Waking up with the Sun
by milkabacon
Summary: "I see," Tsuna's voice cracked, adding an additional yet unnecessary cough after Hino explained the reason as to why and how Ryohei got into her hotel room. Eventual RyoheixOC if I decide to continue this. Details inside. T for mature themes and language, subject to change.
1. Good Morning

Hello! This is the biggest WIP I've ever had, and it's the longest I've ever written. It's supposed to be a WIP continuation to another fic I've been writing, but I've decided to scrap that idea. I've changed a few things before posting this to , but I'm just looking for feedback OTL.

There are other series references here, and I'm not sure I'm happy with them anymore, but whatever.

WIP

**Edit:** This chapter is an edit of the first chapter I uploaded of the story. Writing style has definitely changed. Also trying to fix up loopholes OTL. Apologies that it's really text heavy, but I promise it's not like this for later chapters OTL.

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-Namimori Amphitheatre, August 16, 20:09-

"_Thank you all for coming to our show, nyah!_"

"_And now we'd like to call out a very special person, aru~!"_

"_Our wonderful manager, Hazuki Hino-senseeeeeiii!"_

The crowd cheered as four teenage girls waved frantically for their friend to come on stage. The Namimori Amphitheatre was filled with hundreds of screaming fan girls and boys for Japan's latest and hottest pop rock band, _A Smile for Smiles_.

"_Aah, you guys… you shouldn't have…"_

"_Once again, give it up for Hino sensei, aru~!"_

The audience cheered once more as a businesswoman shyly made her way onstage, glaring furiously at the four girls decked in outrageous costumes.

"Everyone, thank you for coming out to our concert. Sadly, it's going to be the last one of the tour…" The crowd interrupted with 'Awws' and cries, but she continued, "…but don't worry! The girls are doing there best to create new songs for everyone to enjoy! Let's all wish them good luck, 'kay?"

Hino smiled as she waved to the crowd, excited for a new album.

-Namimori Amphitheatre, back stage, 20:47—

"Great show girls, make sure you don't party too hard!" Hino laughed. The older woman was in their dressing room congratulating them on a job well done during their international tour.

"Ne, it wouldn't be a party without yoooooouuu, aru~" one of them cried.

"It's okay. Tanaka-chan, Sensei's an old lady, she needs to rest," another smirked.

"I'm only _25_, Miko-chan," Hino glared at the younger girl, emphasizing her age.

"Eh? Where are Kori-chan and Reina-chan?" Tanaka piqued. The two others went 'ah' and explained that they had both left for the hotel because Reina had left her cell phone in her suite. Tanaka laughed and sighed.

It was around ten o' clock when the amphitheatre was almost empty, leave Hino and a few of the other staff members. She had been in a meeting with a few business men when she realized the time.

"Aaah, how time flies by during meetings..." Hino sighed to herself as she exited a room.

"_Yo, Hazuki._"

"Eh? That voice… it sounds familiar…" Hino muttered to herself.

"Right here."

Hazuki whipped around to see a tall figure standing in the shadows, and immediately started to back away. It, or rather he as she saw, stepped out of the shadows, raising up his hands in defense.

"It's okay! Hazuki, it's me, Yamamoto Takeshi," he laughed.

"Ya-Ya-Yamamoto Takeshi?" she stuttered, letting the name roll off her tongue.

"Yeah!" he laughed once more.

"Ano… I'm sorry, but I can't quite recall…" she flushed.

Yamamoto laughed and scratched the back of his neck before smiling, "I guess I could understand… after all, we first met about eleven years ago…"

"Eleven… years? So… middle school… Yamamoto…" she pondered.

"Yeah! I went to Namimori, and you went to Midori!"

"… Ah! You're that guy… ano…_ Takesushi_!" she pointed out.

"Ahahah! Glad to see you recognize me. But anyways, I need to talk to you," he smiled, yet a serious tone embedded itself in the last part.

"Well, I guess we can talk over some hot coffee, I know this great place near my hotel."

"That's fine," he smiled.

-Namimori Coffee-Coffee Hut, 21:23—

"So what did you need to talk about, Yamamoto-san?" Hino asked as she sipped on her chai latte.

"It's a serious matter, and it involves your business expertise," he replied.

Both adults were sitting in a booth in the corner that Yamamoto had chosen, sipping on their select drinks.

"My business expertise? You need to talk about… managing _A Smile for Smiles _or_..._?" she raised an eyebrow.

"No. I mean, your _other_ business," he replied in a hushed tone. Hino managed to keep herself from looking flustered and losing her cool at his answer.

"So it's about my company..."

"I'm being _serious_ here."

"I… I don't kn—"

"You know as well as I do, Hazuki."

His voice was stern and serious now, and it made Hino nervous.

"I… I… very well," she whispered, "but we need to go somewhere else for _that_."

"No problem, here," he nodded, pulling out a small business card.

She hesitated before she took it from him, looking over the small piece of paper. It was a simple off-white card, red font, stating his name, and the basics. But what caught her attention was the back, where an elaborate gold-inked seal was placed, under large font that read, '_VONGOLA X'_ in clear, English letters. The name sounded familiar, but she merely brushed it off as she pocketed the card.

"Tomorrow, eight o' clock a.m. sharp," he pointed to an address, scrawled in black ink on the side, before standing up.

"I… very well," she sighed.

-Namimori Middle School, Reception Room, 08:12—

"_Where the hell is she?"_

"_It's okay, she'll be here soon enou—"_

A conversation was interrupted when the doors slid open, accidentally slamming into its frame, the force closing it back. A stream of curses was heard on the other side as four figures watch the door open once more, this time much gentler and slower.

"Ah, sorry about that, sir," Hino bowed before entering the room, "the train was delayed five minutes."

"Hazuki Hino-san."

Hino looked up to see three men in black suits, recognizing one as Yamamoto. The other two seemed vaguely familiar, but she brushed it off. She snapped back to reality as she saw that a large-backed chair was facing the other way, and that it started to turn, only to reveal…

"Sawada Tsunayoshi?" she quirked. The boy she was taller than in middle school had grown into a fine young man, his hair still as spiky as ever, though.

"Please, do take a seat, Hino-san," he smiled. She nodded as she walked in, placing herself on one of the couches. Tsuna stood up and walked to the couch opposite her, and extended his hand to shake, in which she complied.

"I heard that you graduated from a college in America, am I right?" he asked.

"Ah yes, Tsuna-kun. I transferred there for business school after getting my masters from Tokyo U," she answered, a little pride hinting in her voice.

He laughed and scratched the back of his head before sighing, "That's pretty awesome, Hino-san. But I'm not here to catch up on old times, ne?"

She smiled before nodding, "I'm very well aware of that, Tsuna-kun. I believe that's why you sent Yamamoto over there to talk to me last night."

"_You ass! You waited till evening! You were supposed to talk to her first thing you got there!"_ one of the men seethed.

"_Maa maa, Gokudera. I wanted to enjoy the concert first, ahahah_!" Yamamoto laughed.

"Gokudera? … You're the one that always bad-mouthed everyone and sucked up to Tsuna-kun over there, aren't you?" Hino stated dully, pointing at his boss.

"Why you! Shut up woman!" he said, gritting his teeth.

"_Oi, tako-head! You should be the one to shut up!_" the other finally spoke. Hazuki's eyes widened. _It was stupid face_.

"Y-y-you! I'll kick your ass, turf-head!" he glared.

"Ano! Hayato-kun! Onii-san! Please stop fighting!" Tsuna wailed. Well, he didn't actually wail, but that's what it sounded like to Hino.

"Ryohei?! As in _stupid face_?"

"I resent that comment, Hazuki. Who the hell are you calling stupid face, stupid?!"

Tsuna cleared his throat before Hino could reply.

"Back on topic, Hino-san… You and I both know why you're here…" Tsuna commented.

"Aah, yes. I do believe it is about… my… _job_," she responded as Gokudera dropped a folder onto the coffee table that divided them.

"You've led a successful life. Graduating top of your class, only to enter your second year of college. Leaving one year after that to attend school abroad and earn your business degree. Coming back here and helping create one of Japan's newest bands, _A Smile for Smiles_ after starting a chain of international cosplay companies…" he recited.

"But, underneath all of that. You're a high ranked member of the business group that deals with Black Market trades and deals. You've had multiple attempts on your life during deals, assassins ranging from small businesses owners to your ex-husband…" he continued.

Hino gulped and narrowed her eyes, "Tsuna-kun... May I pertain as to the reason in which you know all of this?"

"Don't underestimate the power of the Vongola, woman," Gokudera spat.

Hino's eyes widened, "Vongola? Then you really are the-"

"Correct." Tsuna interrupted.

She reached up to loosen her collar, and brush a few strands of hair from her face, "So it must be you who has been affected by _them_. I've heard about your problems, Tsuna-kun, from the other side, of course."

The Vongola boss could only nod as he continued to explain, "The most current deals you've made are the only ones affecting our family. It seems that one of your clients is seeking revenge from a past incident, the Niochavi."

"Niochavi… The one headed by Alessandro Niochavi?" she sighed.

"Yes, them. They have been making numerous threats in our area for quite a while, and we need you to help us stop them."

"Me? I'm a businesswoman, not a strategist or whatever the hell it is," she puffed, raising a delicate hand to her chest.

"And that is exactly why we need _you_. There were other candidates initially, but when your name showed up, I figured—"

"Since we have past relations it would be much simpler, etcetera," she said, finishing his sentence.

-Namimori Middle, Reception Room, 10:23—

"I see, very well then, Tsuna-kun. I shall assist you, but I do request one thing," Hino looked up.

"What is it, Hazuki-san?"

"Please don't let the girls, or anyone else get involved. I have a reputation and a business to uphold. It would be scandalous if this were to ever be revealed to anyone," she stressed.

"Of course, I intend to solve this peacefully, Hazuki-san," the man smiled.

Hino returned the smile as she stood up, smoothing her skirt.

"Thank you once more, Hazuki-san," Tsuna nodded.

"Here's my card, in case you need it," she said, holding out a small black piece of paper.

The dimensions were standard, and text in silver, reading: Hazuki Hino, Manager, _A Smile for Smiles_, and her contact numbers.

-Outside of Namimori Middle, 10:32—

"Eeyaaaah. It's hot today," Hino whined, removing her blazer. The sun was beaming down, as she wiped away the sweat on her forehead.

"OOOOIIIIIIII! HAZUKIIII!"

"That loudness… what do you want?" Hino sighed, turning around to see her old friend.

"It's been years since I last saw you. Let's have a race!" he shouted.

"Ryohei, please. I'm wearing a skirt and heels. I don't think that's proper attire for a race," she pouted.

He stared at her with his eyebrows furrowed, and she stared right back with an arrogant smirk on her face.

Ryohei finally broke the silence by standing up straight and smiling, "You've grown up, Hazuki!"

Hino looked at him with a deadpanned expression, before letting out a heavy sigh, "Well, yeah. You've grown too, Ryohei. And since I can't race you, how about I treat you to lunch, or brunch?"

His face lit up and laughed, "Extreme! Free food!"

Hino rolled her eyes as they walked to the train station.

-Namimori Shopping District, Le Tres Bien Café, 11:24—

"So, stupid face, how is Kyoko-chan?"

Hino looked up from her dish as Ryohei (glaring at the nickname) answered, "Doing very well! I'm so proud of her!"

"…Why?" she raised an eyebrow. The way this man talked about his sister: overprotective, proud, caring; it all seemed so distant yet familiar to her.

"She's very happy with Sawada now!" he slammed his fist on the table, eyes gleaming with excitement. The table earned a few stares and Hazuki covered her face.

"Eh? They're going out now?" she quirked. It was obvious to her that Tsuna was head over heels in love with the girl since way back when, but she would have never thought that he would have the courage to ask his crush out.

"Dating? They're engaged! The wedding's in October!" he cried happily.

"N-n-no way…" she gaped.

"But I always thought that she wanted to be a June bride," he pondered before returning to his plate.

"Most all women want to be June brides, Sasagawa-kun," Hino laughed.

"What about you?" he asked, after he taking a sip from his water.

"I… I got married in December. It was cold, but beautiful nonetheless," she reminisced.

"I see, and your husband is?"

"Dead, to me, that is."

"Aah! I'm sorry, then," he apologized, realizing he had hit a nerve. He went back to his food.

"Ah, it's okay! Now I'm much more focused on my priorities, like raising four pubescent international pop stars," she smiled. They spent the rest of the meal chit-chatting about small things.

-Namimori Train Station, 13:23—

"Ack! I'm going to miss it!" Hino ran down the stairs, hoping to catch her train. After her meal with Ryohei, they bid goodbye as she entered the station. She began to panic when she heard a voice over the intercom, signaling the boarding of the train to the other side of town, where her hotel was.

It was too late when she reached the stop, as the loud screech of metal wheels grated against steel rails.

"No way," she sighed to herself. She looked at her wristwatch before sighing once more, and dragging her feet back up the stairs. She would just have to take a taxi, then.

-Namimori Business District, 13:45-

"Thank you very much!" Hino bowed to the taxi driver after she paid. She turned to the grandeur entrance the only five-star hotel, _the Green Suite_. Sure it had a weird name, but it was top class, and that's all she needed.

-Namimori Middle High School, 13:56—

"Turf-head, how'd it go?" Gokudera asked as he lit up a cigarette as his friend walked in.

"We'll definitely need surveillance on her, just in case," he replied nonchalantly. The meal had gone rather well, just as planned. But they still needed to find a way to monitor her 24/7, just in case she came across something.

"Gokudera-kun, is all this really necessary?" Tsuna asked with an exasperated look on his face.

Sure, he had just reunited with an old friend, and sure, she was part of the problems that they've been having, but to have 24/7 surveillance on a woman who's only been in town for two days, and for how many more they were unsure of, was quite… as he would put it, stressful.

"_Maa, maa_, Tsuna, don't worry about it! You've got a wedding to plan," Yamamoto laughed, joining into the conversation.

"Sword freak, you have to work, too!" Gokudera scolded.

"Onii-san, are you okay? You're awfully quiet…" Tsuna asked, seeing a frown on his friend's face.

"Ah, Sawada… It's nothing… I was just… THINKING ABOUT KYOKO'S WEDDING!" Ryohei roared, snapping back to his usual self, "and YOURS of course! LET'S MAKE IT EXTREME!"

Tsuna smiled and Yamamoto laughed as Gokudera and Ryohei began to bicker over making noises and being too loud.

"Guys, settle down. How about we all just go for a drink at my place?" Yamamoto smiled, trying to calm everyone down.

"You want to go drinking at this time of day, Yamamoto?" Tsuna arched an eyebrow.

"Well, I guess we can later, Tsuna. What about it, guys?" Yamamoto answered, scratching the back of his head.

"If the tenth agrees with it, then so shall I!" Gokudera cheered enthusiastically, secretly rejoicing at the thought of free alcohol.

"Yeah, I need an extreme break!" Ryohei agreed.

"Ah! Bring everyone else, too, Tsuna. It's good to have some bonding time once in a while," Yamamoto waved as stepped out of the room, "I'll see ya."

-Namimori Shopping District, 16:09—

"_Hino-sensei, look over here!"_

"_Look here! Can we get this?"_

"_Look, Hino-sensei! What a cute café!'_

"_Hino-senseeeeei, I'm thirsty, aru. Let's get some pearl tea!"_

The crowd could only watch as a group of five girls made their way down the streets, pointing to shops and cafés, each carrying at _least_ two, almost-full shopping bags, not to mention four of them were international pop stars.

"C'mon, you guys. We're here forever, almost," Hino sighed, "You should be more focused on getting your apartment, while I need to look for an office."

"Myu~ Hino sensei's not being cool…" Kori whined.

"Tanaka, get your sister to shut up so I can buy you some pearl tea," Hino laughed.

"I say hurray for pearl tea!" Miko squeeked.

"Miiikooo-chaaaaan, you're so LOUD, aru," Tanaka pouted.

"Ahahah! Alright girls, one at a time," Hino smiled as they walked into the nearest café.

"_Welcome to our—Hahi! Hino-senpaaai?"_

Hino looked up from her conversation only to see her old schoolmate, "Miura Haru-chan!"

"It is you!" Haru squealed with joy. The younger girl quickly sped from her spot behind the counter to embrace her former senpai.

"… Hino-sensei… Who's that?" Tanaka spoke up, interrupting the hug.

"Ah! Girls! This is Miura Haru. We went to the same middle school here in Namimori," Hino explained.

"Hahi! Hino-senpai was the best sempai anyone could ever haaaave~" Haru squealed.

"Ahaha! She sure is… different!" Miko smirked, earning herself a bop on the head. The four giggled as Haru sat them down at a booth, offering menus.

"Haru-chan, it's okay. You don't have to be so polite," Hino smiled.

"But! I must be! For _A Smile for Smiles_! I have all your albums! Plus about four posters!" she giggled with excitement.

"Ahah!" Tanaka laughed, "We won't mind, Haru-san!"

"Hahi! You called me by my name! Kyaaa~!" Hino shrieked in happiness as she _frolicked_ to the kitchen.

"Hino-sensei…"

"Eh? What is it?" Hino replied, looking up from the drink selections.

"… You have company…" Reina answered.

Hino tilted her head and turned, only to come face to face with Gokudera Hayato.

"Gokudera!" she squeaked in surprise.

"Hazuki… take this," he said, tossing her a black cell phone before stalking off, leaving a bewildered group of five young women. He nodded to an equally surprised Haru as he opened the door.

_"Hino-sensei, who was that?"_

_"Is he an estranged lover?"_

_"Is he married?"_

_"Oooooh! An affair!"_

"All of you, shut up. He's just an old friend, nothing more," Hino replied to all four snarky comments as she placed the phone in her purse, staring at it a bit before closing the flap.

-Namimori Business District, the Green Suite, 20:45—

"Don't stay out too late, _or you're grounded_," Hino called as Miko was about to exit her hotel room.

"Yeah, yeah, stop acting like such a mom," she replied. "We're only going clubbing."

"STILL-!" she tried to rebut, but was too late as the door closed. "Those girls," she sighed, returning to the open windows on her laptop.

_You are now logged in; would you like to coordinate a meeting?_

__Yes_

__No_

The mouse hovered over the 'no' option for a while, until it finally clicked 'yes'.

**_Welcome to the International Blacklist, current members logged on:_**

__x_ Hino Hazuki, Japan_

__x_Alessandro Niochavi, Italy_

__x_Jacques de Gaulle , France_

__x_ Klein Schwarz, Germany_

_**Would you like to initiate a video conference?**_

_**_Yes**_

_**_No**_

The light from the computer glared off the lenses of her glasses as she selected the three other users, along with clicking the yes option.

"_Good Evening, Signorina Hino, Signor Klein, Signor Jacques_," a deep voice echoed in English.

Four different windows popped up on the LCD screen, each of a different face, including hers.

A shadow was cast over the eyes of the man who spoke first, Alessandro Niochavi.

"_Good morning to you, Niochavi-san, de Gaulle-san, Schwarz-san_," she replied, adjusting her glasses.

The other two merely nodded in reply, not bothering to greet the rest.

"_I trust all of you have been pre-briefed with the packages I sent you, non?" _Jacques spoke, his English heavily accented.

"_Si."_

"_Ja."_

"_Hai."_

"_Very well, then we shall begin the meeting."_

- 21:57—

"_I require forces to rid me of the thorn in my side. Ever since that deal we've made in April, the Vongola have been interfering in my plans,"_ Alessandro sighed. A deep chuckle escaped Jacques' throat at the other family's name, his fellow man following suit.

"_That is your problem, Niochavi. Keh! Useless Italiens and their mafias,"_ Klein retorted before taking a swig of his glass of beer.

"_Oh shut up you stupid kraut, is it not also your problem if Monsieur Alessandro encounters problems?"_ the Frenchman spat.

"_Why you damn French bastard!"_ Klein seethed.

But before the Frenchman could retort, Hino spoke up, "_Niochavi-san… Exactly how are the Vongola a hindrance to our deal?"_

"_Ah my beautiful Japanese flower, how you have so much to learn. Come to Italy and maybe I may tell you what you seek,"_ the Italian replied all too smoothly, but Hino could sense the lechery in his voice.

"_There is no need for that, Niochavi-san. I was merely curious. Anyways, since we have indeed covered the necessities, I do believe I must retire for the eve,"_ she replied.

"_Mon cheri, we all must meet in person some day, non? We'll have some of my finest vino,"_ Jacques smirked. 'Ugh,' Hino thought to herself, 'another lecher.'

"_Since this meeting is just about concluded and has turned into mindless and hopeless flirting, I agree with Frau Hazuki. It must be late in Japan, after all,"_ Klein scoffed, clearing his throat.

"_Very well, have a good evening, mademoiselle… and the rest of you,"_ Jacques smiled one last time before his window disappeared.

"_Ah, si. My dear signora, I bid you good night,"_ Niochavi sighed, his window disappearing not long after.

"_Honestly, those two. Both useless idiots,"_ Klein sighed.

Hino stared at the screen for a minute before following suit. She let out a sigh of relief as she took out her glasses, eyes caught by the flash drive on her computer, a small blinking light signifying its activity.

Gulping as she shut down her computer, Hino reached over to the cell phone that Gokudera had given her, and opened its contacts list, unsurprised at exactly _who_ were listed.

- Takesushi, 22:04-

_"Ahahahah! We sure had some fun times back then, ne, Tsuna?"_

_"Yeah, Takeshi-kun"_

_"But you're the one that thought it was all a game for how long, sword freak!"_

Kyoko and Haru giggled along with I-pin and Hana, as Gokudera and Yamamoto bickered. Tsuna smiled at his friends. Well, some of them. Reborn, Bianchi, and Lambo were back in Italy for almost obvious reasons and Fuuta had begun traveling once more, carrying his ranking laptop. Hibari and Kusakabe were nowhere to be seen, as if they'd even go. Chrome and her friends, including Mukuro did not attend either. Sawada Iemitsu and Nana were also traveling on a cruise ship, celebrating their anniversary. But as Tsuna watched his friends, he noticed one wasn't really joining in on the fun.

"Onii-san, is something wrong?" Tsuna asked his brother-in-law to be.

"No, not really. But I got a text message from Hazuki," he replied, looking at the screen of his phone.

The room slightly quieted down as the Vongola boss whispered the message to three of his guardians out the message, ['_I just had a meeting with Niochavi-san and a few others. Recorded it on a flash drive. When do you want it?'_]

"That was fast," Ryohei commented, readying himself to reply to the text.

"Keh, I told you this would work, tenth," Gokudera smirked.

"She's asking when we want the flash drive," Tsuna uttered in an almost hushed tone.

"Why not now, Tsuna?" Yamamoto smiled.

"HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEE? Now?" Tsuna cried, reminding the guardians of his old self, causing them to laugh, gaining attention from the others.

"Yeah! I mean, we did put a lot of pressure on her, so why not ask her to stay for a few drinks too?" he answered nonchalantly.

"I agree with the sword freak, tenth," Gokudera added, looking slightly peeved at his statement.

"Why not, Sawada?"

"Ah, fine, fine. Someone call her over…" Tsuna sighed in disbelief.

-22:29—

"Umm, hello?" a shy voice greeted as a woman entered the bustling restaurant.

"Hazuki-san! Glad you could make it!"

"Hahi! Hino-sempai is here!"

"Yo Hazuki!"

Said woman had a deadpanned expression on her face as she realized how many people were in the same vicinity as her, and at who they were.

"Good evening," she greeted.

"Please, do come in, Hazuki-san," Tsuna smiled.

She nodded, and slowly walked in awkwardly as familiar smiles greeted her.

"Have a drink! Hazuki!" Ryohei grinned as he shoved a bottle of sake in her face. Yamamoto tossed a chilled beer can at the woman, laughing.

"Ah! I don't drink," she apologized as she caught it, placing the can on the nearest table.

"WHAAAAAT? YOU DON'T DRINK?_ THAT'S EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTING!_"the man roared in reply, the rest of the party resuming their activities.

"Are YOU drunk, stupid face?" the woman asked.

"EXTREMELY!" he yelled back before promptly passing out, his bulky body about to land on hers.

She tried move as fast as she could, but the towering hulk of body mass known as Sasagawa Ryohei was much too large for her to avoid. Thusly, resulting in the following: her tripping on the leg of a random chair, her falling, and his passed out self landing on her.

"Ugh…" she grunted as she tried to push his body off of her.

_"Hazuki-san!"_

_"Hazuki-san!"_

_"Hahi? Hino-senpai!"_

"_Will someone just get this fool off of me…?_"

Yamamoto laughed as he and Gokudera picked up the drunk man, who had regained a little bit of his consciousness.

"Honestly, men. They think it's funny to practically inhale massive amounts of alcohol, and then they complain about it in the morning," she said to no one in particular. But that doesn't mean no one heard her.

"_Maa, maa_, Hazuki. You really need to learn how to loosen up, ne?" Yamamoto laughed.

"I never knew you could be such an uptight bitch, stupid woman," scoffed Gokudera as he took a long drag from his cigarette.

"You know, one day the antibodies in your immune system will all die and you'll get lung cancer," the woman glared back.

"Why you!" he replied, raising his arms.

"Gokudera-kun! Hazuki-san! Let's not get too violent. It _is_ a party!" Tsuna cried in worry.

Sure he was older, sure he was much more mature, but Tsuna was still Tsuna, and sometimes old habits die hard.

"Tsu-kun! Haru-chan and I, along with I-pin-chan and Hana-chan want to go to a karaoke bar, is that okay?" Kyoko interrupted, oblivious to their conversation.

"Ah! Kyoko-chan! Sure! You ladies can go! I mean, if you don't mind us staying behind," Tsuna answered his fiancé affectionately.

"Alright! Hino-chan, would you like to come to?" she asked, turning her head.

"Ah! Actually, I think I'm just going to grab something to go, and then head back to my hotel. I hope you don't mind. Maybe another time!" Hino smiled.

"Okay, Hino-chan! _Ja ne_!" Kyoko waved as she was the last to exit the restaurant.

The Vongola guardians and guest sat in silence for a minute until Hino placed something small on the table.

"I told you I'd bring it, so here," she said.

"A-ah. Thanks again, Hazuki-san. I'm sorry about bothering a friend for such trivial matters," Tsuna smiled.

"Hn. It's merely a business transaction. Nothing more, nothing less. Turns out, I want that sick pasta freak out of my life as much as the next woman," she scoffed.

"_Oooii. Hazukiii. Have a drink and take that extreme stick out of yer butt, will yah?_" a drunken voice drawled. Hino was somewhat astonished as Ryohei picked himself off the ground.

"And get wasted like you? I prefer my liver clean and healthy, thank you very much," she retorted.

"Keh! The stupid woman's just too weak to handle any kind of alcohol," Gokudera grinned.

"Gokudera! You shouldn't insult every person you know. It's not a good thing," Yamamoto laughed.

"Hah! Admit, you weak woman. You can't tolerate alcohol. Not one bit," he chided.

"I'll have you know, I have a very high tolerance for alcohol. Especially something as weak as sake," she glared, her pride affected. Going to college in America had its perks. The amount of parties that you could go to was almost unnerving.

"Then let's have an extreme drinking contest, Hazuki!" Ryohei smirked, pulling out a bottle of god-knows-what from god-knows-where.

"_Onii-san… Where were you hiding that?_" Tsuna thought to himself.

Hino's eye twitched as Yamamoto and Gokudera announced they would join in too, leaving Tsuna as the referee. Yamamoto walked behind the counter and brought out four shot glasses, earning questionable looks from his friends, shrugging.

"_One… Two… Three! Kampai!**"_

- Takesushi, 00:56—

"_AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!_" Hino howled in laughter, slamming down a green bottle.

Blazers and ties were strewn over place, chairs and tables in disarray, a pair of glasses in the middle of all this.

"I told _you_ that I have a high tolerance for alcohol!" she screamed. She was obviously drunk to Tsuna, her hair out of its bun and a total mess, face flushed with alcohol.

"_Erg…"_ Gokudera grunted, as he face-planted onto the table. Tsuna immediately rushed over to his right-hand man's side, face twisted with worry and disbelief.

"_They've been drinking for hours!_" Tsuna cried to himself as he looked at his wristwatch.

"HAZUKIIIIIII! I'LL BEAT YOU TO THE EXTREEEEEMMMMME!" Ryohei roared as he downed another bottle.

After finishing the giant one that Ryohei pulled out earlier, Yamamoto, _being the smart one he is_, brought out more, smaller bottles. They weren't as large as the first one, but the label read as six times more potent. Tsuna pulled his hair in frustration as the already drunk friends of his grabbed multiple bottles.

**Bottle Score:**

Gokudera- 2

Yamamoto- 1

Ryohei- 3

Hino- 3

Tsuna- 0

Tsuna palmed his face in frustration as he (kind of) cleaned up the empty bottles and cigarette butts that littered the floor, almost hit by a _very_ wasted Ryohei, who had taken himself to flinging his arms in random movements, and jabbing the air with his boxer punches.

Hino was partly on the floor, barely hanging off the chair, and resting her torso on the table, talking in mixes of English and gibberish to no one in particular.

Yamamoto passed out on the chair, leaning back, and Gokudera trying to move from his spot on the table.

Tsuna watched as the man attempted to lift his head by pushing up his arms, and somehow ended up falling onto the floor. He decided to stay there for a while.

'_What the hell? How do these things even happen!'_ Tsuna cursed himself internally, running a hand through his brown locks in disbelief.

"_GYUHUHUH! SILVER SAMURAI! YOU WILL NEVEEERRR DEFEAT MEH!"_ Hino chuckled as she stood up, or tried to.

"_WATCH OUT, PINK PRINCESS! I'LL SAAAVVEE YOOOOUUEEWW!"_ Ryohei replied, making no sense to Tsuna at all. He stared wide-eyed as both adults tried to stand up, succeeding only after they had decided to cling to each other for support.

"_SILVER SAMURAAAAAAIIIIIIIII!_" the woman girl squealed.

"_PINK PRINCEEEESSSSSSS!_" he answered gallantly.

Tsuna could only stare as his friends took wobbly steps and exited the restaurant, before screaming.

"Onii-san! Hazuki-saaan!"

But before Tsuna could leave to reach his friends, something grabbed his leg.

"Don't worry about it, tenth! Turf-head isn't that reckless!" Gokudera managed to spit, before suddenly turning green.

"Hayato-kun?" he asked his friend in worry, "you don't look so well…"

"-_HAYATO-KUN!_"

- Takesushi, 01:23—

"I hope they arrive home safely, though," Tsuna said softly to himself, before noticing a familiar pair of glasses, "Hazuki-san's glasses! She must've left them here… I'll give them to her tomorrow…"

-Namimori Business District, the Green Suite, 09:13—

_**[BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP]**_

Hino groaned in annoyance as she fumbled to shut off the alarm.

"_Guuuuhhhh_… _I feel like I was hit by a train…_" she groaned once more as she snuggled into the covers, enjoying its warmth.

But the sun peaking over throughout the crevices of skyscrapers didn't really allow her to do so.

"_Damn sun…_" she cursed, pulling the sheets over her head.

'_Why is it so warm…? Nice and warm… but…_' she thought to herself as the heat under the white cloth engulfed her body.

She stayed still for a moment, enjoying the silence.

Until she heard a loud snore.

Her eyes widened in shock as she struggled to get up. After finally pulling all the covers off of her and rubbing her eyes, she sat up and stared in horror, a million questions running through her mind.

_What the hell happened!_

_What time is it!_

_What time did I get home?_

_Why am I naked?_

And lastly, "_WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN MY BED AND WHY THE FUCK AM I—OHMYGOD!" _she shrieked, staring at the body mass beside her.

It stirred and sand sat up, awakened by the loud shrill screech.

"Eh? Hazuki? Why are you being extremely loud?"

It took man a couple of seconds to realize just what happened. Both adults stared at each other in horror, looking down to their naked bodies. Until Hino kicked the man off the bed.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE? AND WHY THE—WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DOOOOOOO?" she screamed, as she tried to get off the bed, slipping in the process, but hurrying to stand up and cover herself.

"I DON'T KNOW! I'M EXTREMELY CONFUSED AT THE MOMENT! AND PLEASE QUIET DOWN! _MY HEAD IS IN EXTREME PAIN_!" he answered just as loud.

"YOU SHOULD BE THE ONE TO STOP SCREAMING YOU BASTARD! GAAAAH! MY HEAD!"

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED HERE, HAZUKI?"

"I DON'T KNOW JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP AND GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT!" she yelled, repeating the '_get out_'.

The man grabbed whatever clothes he could find as Hino turned away and covered her face as red from embarrassment. She would later deny to herself the fact that she peeked through her fingers at the naked man who struggled to dress himself.

Never in his life had he seen such a furious woman. Kyoko was much too sweet to be so foul mouthed. Kurokawa wasn't this bad either. She was much milder than Kyoko, but he still had never seen a woman act the way she did.

Ryohei contemplated to himself these thoughts as he sat in the living room of the suite, with water boiling on the stove in the kitchenette, moving only when he heard the loud '_fweeee_' of the kettle. His train of thought came to a sudden stop when the doorbell rang, but before he could take one step, a loud voice echoed throughout the whole complex.

"_I'LL GET IT!"_

The sun guardian swore that Yamamoto could've probably cut the tension in the air with his katana as Hino stormed out of her room, fumbling with the tie on her bathrobe.

She stomped over to the door, trying to fix her disheveled hair. As soon as she got to the door, she placed a hand on the knob, and turned to Ryohei with a "shush" expression, a finger to her lips.

Hino opened the door slightly, "Yes?"

_"Ano, Hazuki-san_… You forgot these at the restaurant…"

Hino's face clearly read '_shit_' when she saw the speaker.

"T-thank you, Tsunayoshi-kun. I was looking for these," she replied weakly, as she opened the door a little wider to retrieve her glasses.

"Hazuki-san, you don't happen to know where Onii-san is, do you?" Tsuna asked innocently,

"Kyoko-chan said that she hasn't seen him all morning, and that he's not answering his cell phone. Since you two disappeared last night I was—"

"I haven't a goddamn clue on where that man is." Hino interrupted.

Tsuna was a taken back at the sharp reply, but shrugged it off as an after effect from all that drinking they did last night.

"I guess I could call him," he sighed, punching the speed dial on his phone. Hino reacted too late when a loud ringtone interrupted. She froze as soon as Tsuna looked to her, brown eyes wide.

"It's not what you think! I mean!" she fumbled, trying to cover up the mess.

"_Tenth! Is there something wrong?_"

"_Maa, maa, Gokudera. Quiet down…_"

Chills ran up Hino's spine as she palmed her face, Ryohei's ringtone still blaring in the background. Gokudera, concerned about his boss, suddenly appeared, slightly shoving the man away from the door, coming face to face with a disgruntled woman.

"Why does the Tenth look like he was hit by a ghost? And don't you have any respect? It's customary to open the door and let your guests in," the man scolded.

Hino was opened her mouth to protest, but Gokudera shoved the door open roughly, causing her to fumble back.

"_What… the…_"

Hino ran her hands through her hair, a pained look on her face as Gokudera stalked in, with Tsuna dragging his feet behind, and Yamamto following.

"_Turf-top…_WHY THE HELL IS THE TURF-HEAD HERE?"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING TURF-TOP TAKO-HEAD?"

Yamamoto smiled weakly as Tsuna palmed his face. Hino had taken to the kitchenette, staring at the counter with wide, empty eyes, hands planted on the solid surface. Sweat ran down her forehead as millions of thoughts ran through her head.

"…. Woman, you have some explaining to do," Gokudera scoffed, standing at the entrance of the kitchenette.

"I… he… we… THIS IS WHY I DON'T DRINK DAMN IT!"

-Hino's hotel room, 09:54—

"_I see,_" Tsuna's voice cracked, adding an additional yet unnecessary cough after Hino explained the reason as to _why_ and _how_ Ryohei got into her hotel room.

There was a very awkward silence afterwards.

_VERY. AWKWARD. SILENCE_.

Hino coughed. No one seemed to notice. Gokudera could only glare at the woman, an occasional twitch surfacing near his right eye. Ryohei cleared his throat as he fiddled with his tie. Yamamoto said nothing, a blank look on his face.

As for Tsuna, well… He looked like he had just walked in on a naked woman. That wasn't Kyoko.

"Well… I don't th-" Ryohei began, only to be cut off by Hino.

"You. DON'T. TALK," she spat, emphasizing each syllable, "but… if-"

"YOU. STUPID WOMAN, shut up," Gokudera seethed.

Yamamoto scratched the back of his head. Tsuna remained the same.

"You know what? Okay! I slept with him!" Hino cried in exasperation, "we were drunk, and we're all adults!"

"Hazuki's right, so let's calmly jus—"

"CALMLY! YOU SLEPT WITH THE CLIENT! THAT'S BREAKING HOW MANY RULES, TURF-TOP!"

"_Please calm down…_"

"OH, SO IF YOU FIND A LOVELY MAIDEN ON ONE OF YOUR MISSIONS, AND YOU BANG HER, IT'S ALRIGHT!" Hino retorted to Gokudera's outburst.

"YOU NEED TO SHUT UP, WOMAN! You're not part of this!"

"NOT PART OF THIS? I SLEPT WITH THE MAN FOR GOD'S SAKES! I THINK THAT QUALIFIES AS 'PART OF THIS'!"

"Hazuki, calm down!"

"_Ano…_"

"NO! You! This, this, THIS IS YOUR ENTIRE FAULT! You stupid men and your damn drinking habits!"

"Keh! It's your fault for joining in!"

"IT'S YOUR FAULT FOR PROVOKING ME!"

"_OI!"_ Tsuna snapped, as much as he could.

"Tenth! I'm sorry!"

_"**IT'S HIS/HER FAULT**__"_ Ryohei and Hino said at the same time.

* * *

And that's the end of my bullshit.

Leave a review if you think I should continue and add the backstory to this. :D

Leave a review if you think I should just scrap this and go back to whatever hole I crawled out of.

**Edit::**

Re-uploading this after 3 years because I wanted to try writing again. I have other chapters ready for upload if want, but I'll wait on feedback lol.

**Edit:::**

I have a smut omake. Idk if I wanna upload it.


	2. Notice

A/N::

I recently re-edited chapter 1 for a bit, and I have chapter 2 ready for uploading. Feedback is much appreciated and if people want me to upload it, then say so or I might just let this fic die for another 3 years lol 0:


	3. Lollipops Pt 1

Waking up with the Sun Chapter 2: Lollipops pt. 1

I have another chapter in mind, and I was thinking of publishing this as a separate story parallel to _Waking up with the Sun_ but eh fuck it let's put these two together. All flashback fics will be titled with 'Lollipops', in reference to a fic I made like 5 years ago (but lost all the original files to OTL). It is kind of early for flashback chapters but w/e.

Re-writing things for better continuity. Preface to _Waking Up with the Sun._ Starts at episode 32 of the anime (A Shark Showed Up to the Pool!) and slightly alters canon, only not really. Goes along with major canon arcs, but they're not included in the story. Chapters are more like flashbacks to days of the past, since _Waking Up with the Sun_ takes place 11 years post the start of the series, meaning it's also past the future arc, so everything is okey-dokey.

Also lol my writing style has definitely changed in the past 3 years, so forgive the format difference.

* * *

-Namimori Public Swimming Pool, 16:32-

"_I was too busy enjoying myself that I totally forgot, Hahahahaha!"_

Sawada Tsunayoshi gawked at his older friend, completely flabbergasted at what he called 'swimming'. Here he was, in dire need of swimming education to avoid being embarrassed in front of the class, and his friends and their crazy methods were really only making things worse. Yamamoto's way of learning was based off of weird sounds that made no sense at all. Gokudera only caused him pain and confusion, and Haru was just downright embarrassing. Reborn didn't help with anything, but that's really not anything new.

_And then there was Ryohei-oniisan. _

Ryohei started laughing again, only to be cut off by someone completely new.

"_You call that 'swimming'?! You're a total disgrace to the sport!"_

The four teens turned to the reaction the voice came from, only to be greeted by a girl who looked to be around their age. She was pointing an accusing finger at Ryohei, with a (really ugly) sneer on her face. Reborn remained silent as she proceeded to list everything (_everything_) wrong with the boxer's technique.

She made a look of disgust as she placed her hands on her hips, covered by a one-piece suit that girls wore for their uniform. Her skin was a sort of uneven tan, light brown hair that had obviously been dyed in a messy ponytail.

"Hahi! Hazuki Hino-senpai!" Haru was the first to say something, stopping the other girl (who was in the middle of explaining just how wrong Ryohei was).

_Hazuki-senpai? Haru knows this girl?_ Tsuna made a look of disbelief as the girl named Hazuki moved her hand, pointing to the brunette.

"And _you!_ I won't even start with you, Miura Haru-san! After cheering at so many of our meets, you would think that passion isn't the only driving force! There must be technique! Skill! Motion!"

_This girl sounds a bit like Onii-san and Gokudera-kun combined…_

Hazuki wiped her chin with a smirk and the sun reflected off of the goggles that sat upon her head. She moved to point at Gokudera and was about to lecture him when she was interrupted by Ryohei.

"Eehhhhh?! My technique is _great to the extreme!_"

"Your technique is _stupid_ to the extreme."

Soon the two were arguing by yelling the same insults at each other and really they were getting nowhere. Tsuna was never going to be able to learn to swim in time and _where was Reborn in all of this? He was laying on a floater not too long ago feigning sleep…_ His train of thought came to a skidding halt as two very loud voices echoed at the deeper end of the pool, and he shaded his eyes from the sun to see Hazuki and Ryohei preparing to race.

"I'll show you how it's done, amateur! You're no match for me underwater!" The girl pulled her goggles over her eyes and knelt on one knee, extending the other leg far back. _She looks like such a pro. _Ryohei grinned enthusiastically, enlightened by the challenge. Yamamoto called out to them, saying that he wanted to join in the race as well and was greeted with open arms. Tsuna made his way to the deck of the pool and sat near where Haru stood, her demeanor completely changed from pouting because of Hazuki's commentary. Tsuna blinked and saw Reborn pop out of nowhere at where the three other teens stood, a whistle in his mouth, a timer in one hand and a pistol in another.

Gokudera made his presence next to his beloved boss known with a click of his tongue, "I'll bet she's just all talk like a stupid woman." Haru huffed and turned to glare at him, a gleam in her eyes.

"Hazuki-senpai is the captain of the Midori Middle Swimming Team! She's won medals for the school two years in a row! And her team has won multiple medals, too!"

_That would explain a lot._ Tsuna prepared himself to watch his friends fail. With the way Yamamoto tried teaching him he could only assume so much about the baseball enthusiasts' swimming, and _onii-san… Let's just leave it at that_.

The shot signaling the start of the race was fired and all eyes were on the three. Hazuki dove into the water with grace and in such a slim form that her dive caused little splashing. He didn't see her surface until about 3 metres past where she entered the water, swimming at full speed. _She's gliding through the water like it was nothing._

Tsuna looked back to his friends to see Yamamoto only slightly behind, swimming… normally.

Tsuna didn't see Ryohei surface. He grimaced at the possibility of what was happening underwater, though he finally did resurface, only to dive back down again and move about one metre forward. And repeat. _Onii-san…_

His eyes went back to the race between the two others and Hazuki had already started the lap back while Yamamoto just made it to the wall.

By the time Ryohei surfaced once more (after this happening three times), he was at the middle of the pool, in Tsuna's line of sight. Yamamoto just made it back as Hazuki was already sitting on the deck holding Reborn and pinching his cheeks, cooing at how cute he was in his little swim suit and matching cap.

"You guys really suck. And you're trying to _teach_ _him_ how to swim? I feel like I should be teaching you guys (or at least most of you) how to swim. Properly."

She was met with protest. A lot of it. Coming from Ryohei. And Gokudera. Hazuki made the same look of disgust that she had earlier. And then she threw kickboards at both of them. _Where even did that come from?_

Tsuna inwardly cried. He could feel himself getting stabbed with insults. He looked to Reborn with pleading eyes, but the baby had a look on his face. A look that meant something bad (for him at least) was coming.

"_Alright, maggots! Line up!_ I'm gonna teach you the way my dad taught me!" Hazuki yelled from the top of her lungs, now sporting a whistle and sunglasses.

Reborn laid idly once more atop his floater, snot bubble and all. Tsuna sunk into the water between Gokudera, who had finally joined them in the pool (he babbled something about supporting the tenth), and Yamamoto, who was eager to just swim with everyone. Their impromptu coach was interrupted every 5 seconds by Ryohei, who constantly defended his 'Rumble Fish' style swimming. Haru deadpanned, wishing she could switch places with someone else so that she didn't have to see his awkward underwater movements.

Hazuki rolled her eyes. _These people are idiots_, she dove over Yamamoto's head, quickly resurfacing and pushed the hair that covered her eyes back.

"Since all you need to do is swim 15 metres, I'll give you the condensed version. The first technique is to master breathing. Follow what I do."

She took a big breath of air and then submerged, letting out bubbles for about 10 seconds, and surfaced, squinting her eyes as she mumbled something about forgetting her goggles, which were currently resting around her neck.

The others complied, and there was a violent eruption of bubbles next to Haru, who distanced herself from the boxer.

Tsuna came up gasping for air at the same time that Gokudera and Yamamoto did.

"_Juudaime! _Are you okay!?"

"_Maa maa, _Tsuna. Take your time, haha!"

Hazuki rubbed the bridge of her nose, and instructed them to continue with the exercise 10 more times, earning an insult from Gokudera (who had a foam floater thrown to his face _seriously where did that come from_), a laugh from Yamamoto, and enthusiasm from Haru and Ryohei. Tsuna groaned once more. The sun was setting and he still had homework to do. Just how long was this going to take.

What he didn't noticed was that half of his thinking was done underwater. And he didn't notice that he was coming up for breaths periodically. And that the others were off doing their own thing. That is, until he was greeted with a splash to the face.

Hazuki flashed a genuine smile and gave him a thumbs up.

"Now that you've mastered breathing, this is the easy part."

She waded through the water and gently approached him, "Inflate your stomach like it's a big ball, and that'll give you buoyancy. The key is to stay afloat. So just think of your stomach like a big inflatable beach ball, ne?"

She then proceeded to pull a very colorful one out and throw it, hitting Ryohei gracefully at the back of his head. _I don't even want to know, but there's no sense in not trying._ Tsuna nodded as his feet lifted off of the pool floor, his tummy fat with air. He started to panic as he sank, but an assuring hand pushed his back up.

"Calm down, calm down. This is normal. Now just relax and I'm going to take my hand out and don't move."

She reassured him with a soft smile and backed away. He tensed up and felt his legs sinking, but then took a big breath of air and it stopped.

"Good. Now, turn onto your tummy and extend your arms, like you did earlier. Straighten out your legs and don't bend your knees, and start kicking. Like you're trying to walk but you don't have knees."

_What kind of reference was that_. He gulped before turning onto his stomach and did as he was instructed, panicking as soon as his face hit the water. He lifted his head to breathe and stood up, coughing.

"Okay….. Not exactly what I expected, but just try to remember everything I taught you in the past half hour."

Hazuki grinned and gave him another thumbs up. He replicated all the things he had learned and after he came up for air about six or so times, he stood up, body exhausted from the effort and was suddenly confused by the change in scenery.

He turned around and saw that he was a good three metres away from where he started, where a pleased Hazuki crossed her arms and smiled. He saw Gokudera, Ryohei, Yamamoto, and Haru cheering him on.

She called out to him, "Now just keep practicing that! I hope you pass your test!"

With that she pulled herself out of the water, bowed to Reborn, who had taken it upon himself to set up a lounge chair, sunglasses adorning his face, and waved 'bye' to the people she had just met.

-Somewhere in suburban Namimori, 18:23-

"_Aaahhhhhhhhhhh_ I'm so tired…"

Tsuna massaged his back as he and his friends walked home after being kicked out the waterpark, the manager mentioning something about a dolphin and explosions and never being allowed back there ever again.

"_Ne_, Hino-senpai is really awesome, isn't she?" Haru's eyes glittered after getting some first-hand experience swimming with her school's team captain, getting advice from the older girl, who was actually in the same year as Ryohei.

"_Tch_. Bastard woman was so annoying. Thinking she could take charge of things. And throwing so much crap at me!? Who does she think she is?! Disrespecting the Vongola Decimo's right-hand man?!"

Gokudera seethed through his teeth, though he won't admit that he was (somewhat) thankful for the girl's teaching, since she did work with the physics of swimming.

Yamamoto smiled and laughed, "But this is great! Now Tsuna can swim, and we had a fun time and made a new friend!"

Tsuna cracked a smile and adjusted Lambo and I-pin in his arms, both sound asleep, exhausted from the day's activity. They had run into the five-year-olds at the waterpark amidst their shenanigans, and they weren't allowed back at the pool either, by association.

The only one who wasn't revelling in Tsuna's new-found ability was Ryohei, who seemed troubled by the girl's harsh criticisms and comments, saying how he didn't deserve a title related to swimming with technique like that. But there was also some sort of new determined fire in his eyes, and that troubled the younger boy. Slightly.

"_Alllrriigghhhhtt!_ I train myself in swimming _to the extreme!_"

"Shut up, turf-top! You're so loud!"

"_Whaddya say, octopus-head?!"_

And so their pleasant walk home had turned to disaster. By the time Tsuna found his way home, he was even more tired than earlier. He plopped his stuff down onto his floor and fell onto his bed with a '_PLOOF_', groaning as 5 seconds passed before a familiar '_Ciaossu_' disturbed him from his moments of peace.

Tsuna collapsed onto this floor after a horrid day. _I can't believe we had to do breaststroke_. _All that effort for nothing…_

The day just got worse as he was handed a bill for the repair costs from the park.

* * *

;~; bleheughgughugh

The funny thing is that I originally had planned for Hino to be part of the track team, but I recently got into_ Free! Iwatobi Swim Club_ and it reminded me of my swimming days back in elementary/middle school. OTL


	4. Lollipops Pt 2

Waking up with the Sun Chapter 3: Lollipops pt. 2

I currently have 3 more chapters under the Lollipops umbrella, but they'll be spread out to fit in with _Waking up with the Sun_ later on.

* * *

"_Hahi!? Hino-senpai!_ What are you doing here?!" Haru pointed an accusing finger at the older girl, who was wearing a simple one-piece suit that rather accentuated her features. The top part of the suit looked like a large bow that _fit her really well_, the strap being much thinner than the suit she usually wears, showing her tan lines.

Hazuki lowered her sunglasses and pulled the lollipop that had been sitting on her tongue out, using it to point back, "I didn't know we were on a first name basis, but I'm actually here for leisure. The team is having a beach day and I went to buy snacks." Hazuki promptly lifted a (rather large) bag of candies, chips, and other assortments and grinned. Haru looked down to her chest and pouted, but it didn't go unnoticed by her senpai. Hazuki pulled off her sunglasses and winked, "Sports swimsuits are a lot tighter than regular ones. It helps with the fluid dynamics to have as little drag as possible." Haru turned red.

Kyoko, who had been standing next to Haru clapped her hands and smiled, "You must be Hazuki-san! Tsuna-kun and my brother have told me all about you!"

Hazuki cocked her head to the side, "Brother?"

"Yes! My name is Sasagawa Kyoko and my big brother is Ryohei!"

Hazuki took some rapid steps forward and squished Kyoko's cheeks, surprising the both of them, "But you're so cute! How can you be related to that… _weirdo…_"

Kyoko giggled and smiled sweetly, confused at why the other girl was calling her brother weird. He was just enthusiastic!

"So what are you two up to now?" the older girl asked, sticking the lollipop back into her mouth.

Haru explained what happened after Hazuki left, and the girl had a hard time believing the story. She walked with the two younger girls towards where their friends were at, since it was in the same general direction as her teammates, rolling her eyes at the incredibly obvious stares and commentary from some boys nearby.

"Look, Tsuna-kun! Guess who we ran into!" Haru greeted, waving at the boy and his friends.

"_Ahhh_? Hazuki-san, what are you doing here?"

"I heard you failed your test, so I'm here to make you swim harder. Breaststroke is _my_ stroke, yanno?" the older girl replied with a straightforward glare and a monotone voice. The younger boy made a sort of squealing sound in anguish, and she broke out laughing, unable to keep a straight face.

"I'm kidding, jeez. I'm here with my teammates. We're having a beach day and just relaxing, calm down…"

Hazuki waved at the other guys, greeting them. Yamamoto waved back enthusiastically and Gokudera just gave a glance in her direction. _I'll take what I can get…_

She turned to the other girls, ready to explain that she had to leave after their short time together, only to face a very enthusiastic Ryohei, who exclaimed something about being a lifeguard.

_You're kidding me, right._

"Are you sure you're qualified for that sort of job?" she looked at him with dismay, hand on a cocked hip, lollipop stored to the side of her cheek, giving her a slight lisp. Ryohei furrowed his eyebrows and shot his fist into the air, shouting something along the lines of pushing himself as a swimmer to the limit. She didn't pay attention.

Their interaction was cut short by the cries of a little child who was being bullied by three very large men, all with gross faces. Hazuki sneered as they approached the group, turning her nose upward when Ryohei introduced them as former boxing club members.

She ignored most of the conversation as she pulled her cellphone out of the plastic bag in her hand, sending a text message to her friends, who were still waiting on those snacks. She flipped her phone close and looked up to see a very creepy looking guy with a square jaw and messy chopped hair, staring at her chest, and the other two guys creeping on Kyoko and Haru. She glared as he turned to face Gokudera, who wanted to start a fight, and explained that they were going to race instead.

Ryohei volunteered but was instantly shut down. Really for the better.

"I'll swim for your team, Tsuna," Hazuki said as she craned her neck, wearing that same disgusted face she made when she first met them, only this time she looked more angry than anything else.

The older guys laughed.

"You gonna have a _girl_ swim for you? Man, what kind of guy are you, _Tuna_?!" one of them jeered.

"Why _I oughtta-_" Hazuki was stopped by Haru, hands balled into fists as Haru politely asked her to calm down. It would be Yamamoto, Gokudera, and Tsuna racing instead. Ryohei would be referee.

"I like _you_, you're _spunky_…" the same one with the jaw smirked, leaning down to her eye level. She was about to tell him off when he turned on his heels to face his friends. Her eyes widened in the rage of being ignored and had to be held back by both Kyoko and Haru this time. The lollipop in her mouth crunched and the stick fell out, "_I'M GONNA WHOOP YOU SO BAD TH-_"

Bye the time she had actually calmed down, the race had already started, and she yelled out, "It's obviously a trap! So be careful! And kick their asses!"

She turned back to Haru and Kyoko, and sighed, "I gotta go anyway. Pray for them for me, ne?" Haru and Kyoko nodded in affirmation, but not before the three exchanged numbers. _For those girlie times _or something. She was about to turn to Ryohei, but decided against it, not really wanting to deal with anything 'extreme' right now.

Hazuki was about 4 metres past where the race was when she heard a loud '_Reeeboooorrrrrnnnn'_ echo, and turned just in time to see Tsuna throw the jaw guy into the distant waters.

By the time she made it back to her friends, they were already ticked off at the delay.

"Sorry! I ran into those people I met at the pool yesterday. What a bunch of weirdos."

"Really, as if _you're_ one to talk, _Hinotaku_."

"_Don't call me that!_"

Hazuki threw the bag of snacks at her co-captain after pulling out a frog wallet that was an exact replica of the one owned by _Naruto_, and stuck her tongue out.

::Break::

"Okay now this is just getting to be plain creepy."

Tsuna scratched his head as Haru and Kyoko marveled at the handmade goodies that adorned the pleasant looking stand. He happened to be walking around the festival, babysitting Lambo and I-pin, only to run into Gokudera and Yamamoto, Reborn and Futa, and Haru and Kyoko, only to turn to see that Hazuki and some other girls were running a stand diagonal to the choco-banana stand they were at. They were all wearing matching jackets over casual clothes. Hazuki's hair was in a loose pony-tail, the rest of her hair adorning her round face, accented with a rather large hair bow. Her outfit under the jacket reminded Tsuna of something he'd seen in a photo of the Harajuku district of Tokyo. The biggest difference from when they met previously was that she was wearing thick, pink-rimmed glasses that kept sliding down her nose.

_It's a club fundraiser for team jackets. _She gestured to the few other girls that occupied the stand, some busy on their phones, some idling around. None of them bothered to look up. _The ones we have are outdated and ugly, and the school said that the only way we can get new ones is if we raise the money ourselves. _Said money was guarded by an older looking guy who looked to be much more invested in his phone than in protecting their cashbox. _He's my older cousin. My aunt has a medicine stand down the way and asked him to help us because of a string of robberies that have occurred within the past few hours. _

Their quick catch-up was paused as Hibari and his disciplinary committee stopped by, collecting a fee from the Midori students' stand. He was paid begrudgingly and walked away. _I feel bad for you, having to deal with that at Namimori all the time._

Haru and Kyoko said their goodbyes to the groups, Haru spending a little more time at Hazuki's booth recognizing some of her classmates, and wishing them luck before going around the festival with Futa. Tsuna inwardly cried, wishing he could spend the fireworks show with Kyoko.

The festival passed by slowly. Painfully slowly. Tsuna watched as Gokudera scared off potential customers, and Future I-Pin stopped by, mentioning something about a delivery for_ Kawahira-san_. With some advice here and a little _feng shui_ there, things got exponentially better. This earned an angrily shouted message from across the way about crowd control. Tsuna brought over a bunch of choco-bananas as a form of apology and the complaint was dismissed easily. _Her weakness must be food_.

Yamamoto had just left, as well as Gokudera when Tsuna sat down to relax, and just as soon as that, a mysterious figure stole the cash box from right under his arm and ran off.

Hazuki watched the events unfold as soon as they did, recognizing the thief as one of the guys from the beach, and grabbed a metal pipe, an excess piece they had found when setting up their stand, and was about to run after Tsuna, hoping to get revenge for the events that transpired earlier.

She was unexpectedly stopped by Reborn, who had appeared out of nowhere. He smirked and told her to stand down and stay where she was, mentioning something along the lines of 'family'. For some reason or another, she listened to the baby and decided to just walk around the festival instead.

_This town is way too small_. Hazuki backed away from one of the prize-winning stands, hoping to avoid another ~_fateful encounter_~, but she bumped into someone behind her, and lost her balance, falling onto a pile of precariously placed prizes on a nearby stand. The commotion caused one Sasagawa Ryohei to look up from his _extremely_ concentrated game of catching goldfish right after he had scooped one out of the water. His pause to look up delayed his ability to put the fish in the plastic bag filled with water, and the paper net broke, and he was left right where he started.

Dismissing the game, he greeted Hazuki very loudly, wondering where she had run off to earlier when they were at the beach. He had wanted to challenge her to a race once more, but she had long been gone after the little incident with his former upperclassmen.

_Well thank god I left when I did_. She did notice that this was the first time she'd seen him fully clothed, since their last encounters involved him wearing Speedos. And she marveled at the putrid shade of orange he wore as a t-shirt.

"I gotta challenge you at something! Come on, anything! It'll be extremely awesome!"

Hazuki stuck her pinky up her nose and made a face, "Ugh. Does everything have to be _to the extreme_ with you?"

He made a slight face of disgust to her unfeminine action, but smiled and pumped his fist, "_HELL YEAH!_"

"You're causing a scene _will you quiet down?!_" she grabbed his arm and pulled it down, trying to quell the walking talking commotion that was Sasagawa Ryohei, and pulled two lollipops out of her jacket pocket, promptly shoving the first one she unwrapped into his mouth, hoping to shut him up. It did. She unwrapped the second one and stuck it between her teeth and cheek, and motioned for him to follow her, continuing her trip throughout the night's festivities.

The two had not walked 4 feet when they heard a loud explosion coming from the top of the hill where the shrine sat, but Hazuki dismissed it as_ probably some stupid accident_.

Not much later they ran into Kyoko and Haru, now with one added child she met earlier, and Hazuki was close to just leaving the group of four behind in interest of returning to her teammates. The little boy had spoken up before she could turn, mentioning something about the fireworks starting soon, and Ryohei grabbed her arm before she could protest, dragging her through the crowd to get to the top of the hill.

"It'll be a race _to the extreme!_"

She could barely manage to pry her arm out of the boxer's strong grip, and resigned to the race, easily keeping up with his running speed. _Going to karaoke with the girls would just have to wait until later, I guess_.

She found herself out of breath by the time they were atop the stairs, only to be greeted by a mass pile of unconscious people, and a half naked Tsuna, that detail being the first comment she made when she was able to compose herself. _What the hell._

Just as she finished text messaging her friends about her little predicament (earning a fury of replies setting off her text tone, which turned to be a barrage of _Objection!_), Kyoko, Haru, and Futa had made they way to the top of the stairs, arriving at the perfect time as the fireworks started no more than 3 seconds later. Reborn had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, as well as 2 other children.

Haru motioned for Hazuki to sit next to her, and she plopped down on the grass, admiring the display in the night sky. She pulled out another lollipop, and now the moment was just right.

The group had split up when they arrived at their respective stands, Hazuki apologizing sheepishly to her teammates, who had already began cleanup. Tsuna was relieved to find that the stand they worked at was still intact, and he and his friends quickly dismantled the structure, finishing about a minute after Hazuki and her friends did. The captain of the Midori Swim team was now with a woman he suspected to be her aunt, and her older cousin, saying their goodbyes to the other girls.

The nice ending to an eventful day couldn't get any better, but did somehow remain eventful as Gokudera and Ryohei had contests of who could carry the most. Kyoko stressed over Ryohei overexerting himself, and Haru simply ignored the boys, paying more attention to the two children that filled her arms, and Reborn who sat upon her shoulders.

* * *

I'm not touching the Varia Arc. That's 31 episodes. No.


	5. Fifteen Minutes

Hello it's been 3 years since I actually wrote anything on this actual story so here you go.

Waking Up with the Sun Chapter 5: Fifteen Minutes

* * *

The tension in the room was too much to handle. It had only been a couple of days since _the incident_, and though another meeting was scheduled at an early morning time, with punctuality highly stressed, a certain woman was running fifteen minutes late. Fifteen minutes meant a lot in the mafia. Fifteen minutes late meant fifteen minutes of money lost. Fifteen minutes late could mean fifteen lives lost. Fifteen minutes late could mean fifteen lives saved.

But in this situation, fifteen minutes late meant fifteen minutes for two out of four grown men to get angrier and more irritable in minute increments.

"_Where the hell is she?! Just how hard is it to get on a train or hail a cab and get here?!" _

A _very_ pissed Gokudera broke the silence with a loud outburst, adding a string of curses in a mix of Japanese, Italian, and English. A hand slammed down on the table, adding to the raucous noise that disturbed the _pleasing_ silence, shaking it, as well as causing the man seated there to jump and bang his knee on the table.

"_Oi! Shut your loud mouth. Can't you see that you yelling is bad for Sawada's ears?"_

Fifteen minutes, to this particular mafia family, meant the guardians of Storm and Sun snapping at each other, both obviously upset by the lack of attendance of one Hazuki Hino. She hadn't answered the cell phone she was given at 5 minutes past 8 am. She hadn't answered the 10 calls per minute after that. Yamamoto was on the 11th call when she finally did answer, cutting him off before he could say anything, "_Something came up. Can't talk. I'll call you back._"

The other three had turned to Yamamoto (who raised a hand, notifying them of her finally picking up the phone) and they all opened their mouths to speak, only to be cut off by Yamamoto.

-Namimori Middle School, Reception Room, August 18, 08:16—

"She said that something came up and then hung up, and sounded really serious about it. You think she's okay?" he asked, voice filled with concern as he pocketed his phone.

"_Chyeh. _Who does that bitch think she is? How dare she treat the boss like that. I'll bet it's something completely stupid like she broke a nail or something," Gokudera spat. He lit a cigarette and stepped back, leaning on the wall behind him, "I'll go over there to make sure she realizes just_ who_ she's dealing with." He cracked his knuckles and glared at a wall. Tsuna sighed in disbelief at his (violent) right-hand man's actions.

"_Maa, maa_, Gokudera. You really dislike Hazuki, huh?"

"Any person who disrespects the boss should be punished!"

Tsuna closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose before speaking, "_Ano_, _onii-san_, what do you-"

The brown-haired man stopped speaking mid-sentence as looked up to an empty space where his future brother-in-law stood only seconds ago. _Since when did he leave and since __**when**__ did he get so quiet about it? _The door was half opened and it _was _quiet for a while.

-Namimori Amphitheatre, backstage, room 701B, **08:03**-

"Just what the _hell _do you mean by that? I _trusted_ you and even after saving your _desolate _ass, and this is how you treat me?! Get out!"

Muffled arguing could be heard in the emptied back halls of the amphitheatre. But why not? No one should be there at eight in the morning, and no shows were scheduled for another 3 weeks. But one room was occupied by X amount of people who really shouldn't be there.

Hazuki Hino had reserved this specific room because of its proximity to the backstage exit stairs, using it as a temporary office. It would be used for meetings for potential venues and such, not to mention a private getaway for those long _working_ nights, the kinds she didn't want her band of four teenage girls to get involved in.

"I said it once, and I'll say it again, so please listen to me Hino. I'm sorry. _I'm so sorry_. I never meant to put you through all of this. I-" a deep voice pleaded.

"Oh. Of course. You apologized. Now _everything is all better_. No harsh feelings, right? Just saying that you're '_sorry_' is going to fix everything, right?" sarcasm oozed out of the voice that belonged to a very upset woman, "and how _dare_ you say my first name as if nothing ever happened."

"Hi-Hazuki. _Please_. I'm begging you. Just listen to what I have to sa-"

Hino put a hand up to the man she was _conversing_ with, pulling out a buzzing cell phone from her blazer pocket, distressed at the caller's persistence. _This is the eleventh time you've called I swear_. "_Something came up. Can't talk. I'll call you back._" That was all she said before ending the call, not having time to listen to the other speaker, knowing very well who it was without having to even check the caller ID. _To be honest I'd rather be there than here dealing with this bull._

"You know _what_-"

The grown woman was about to lecture the man opposing her, but stopped herself, acknowledging a distinct aura emanating from the man.

"_Who was that? Another man? I should have known that you-_" he seethed.

"If this is really what this whole confrontation is about, then I have absolutely no time to deal with you. _I _have moved on. _I'm_ doing something productive with _my_ life right now, and _I _am _extremely_ late to a _very important meeting _and _I _cannot **stress** the amount of pity that I do. Not. Have. _So please, leave my office immediately_."

There was a stiff silence in the room for a good minute. And it wasn't the awkward kind where you could just change the subject. _Did I just use the word 'extreme' oh god. I've been spending way too much time with them._ Her train of thought was interrupted and her defenses immediately went up as soon as he took a step forward, his attitude completely changed. She firmly stood her ground as he slowly approached her, closing the distance of fifteen feet to fourteen… thirteen… eight… five _five was close enough. _Four feet_ and you need to back up right now, like right now_.

He was about three feet (give or take a foot) away from her before pausing, and then moving once more. Out of reflex, Hino finally stepped back, her heels clicking on the ground in the eerie silence. He smirked. She tensed up and furrowed her eyebrows. He continued moving towards her until her back touched the big wooden desk that occupied a good fifth of the room. Her hands found the desk and fumbled for something _anything_ as he leaned down to her small frame, towering above her.

He leaned in close enough to whisper into her ear, sending chills down her spine, "Listen here you little slut. _I'll let you have it your way, for now_…"

And with that last sentence, he stood straight up, eyed her figure up and down before letting out a throaty chuckle, and spun promptly on his shoes and walked out the door.

-Namimori Amphitheater, backstage, room 701B, 08:31-

The cold water felt good as she ran her hands under the faucet of the empty bathroom. The sound of running water echoed within the tiled room as she proceeded to quickly wash her face before drying it with a rough paper towel. Hino looked up to the mirror, letting out what she hoped was a sigh of relief and not anxiety.

She proceeded to smooth her skirt and collect herself as she walked down the dimly lit hallway, it's silence suddenly disturbed by the loud slamming of what she figured to be the exit door. Stomping echoed throughout the hall and it seemed to be getting… _louder? _

"_**Haaazzuuukkiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!**_"

Of _course._ There's no way she could have gotten away with her actions from earlier. Especially if the hotheaded walking bomb disaster had anything to say. _He was probably lapping at Tsunayoshi's feet right now. _This was something she hoped to avoid at least until after noon or coffee or had something to quell the nauseating feeling that sat in her stomach.

"Yo," she greeted, holding a hand up as the silver-haired boxer turned into the hall she stood in, appearing no more than six feet in front of her.

"_YO?! THAT'S ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY?! YO!?_"

Ryohei grabbed her by the shoulders, jerking Hino out of her state of (almost) dysphoria. She could feel her stomach flipping and her bones rattling as the man shook her as gently as he possibly could (yet too aggressively by her standards).

"_Do you know what time it is?! What the hell happened?! Just what could have possibly come up that you'd have the need to scare the shit out of people?!_"

His ramblings and rapid fire questions went unanswered as he let her go and she collected herself. She merely walked past him into the room she occupied not too long ago, beckoning him to follow with a nod, much to his annoyance.

"I had important (and private) business. It has absolutely nothing to deal with your situation whatsoever, so don't worry about it…" she smiled a smile so fake that even the dullest (_so yes even Ryohei_) could tell that she was lying through her teeth, "I hope Tsuna-kun isn't upset."

He stood to look at her, hair out of place, bags under her eyes, and for some odd reason and uneven skin tone. She noticed him staring and brushed her hair out of place, mentioning something about messing up her makeup and not having time to do her hair.

Ryohei ran his fingers through his hair and let out a _very_ aggravated snarl. One that sounded a little too familiar and made Hino's heart beat a little faster and a little flushed and she turned around. Fiddling through papers trying to collect herself _keyword being trying_ as he let out a low moan of annoyance and _now really isn't the time to moan and Jesus stop thinking about that and fix your shit_.

She took a deep (_deep_) breath before letting out an exhausted sigh, turning around to face the man, getting a really good look since now he was _really close_. He leaned on the armrest of the couch that was about three feet away from the desk she had been leaning on before, a hand still in his (_was it always so messy_) disheveled hair, looking away as if something was on his mind, his tie slightly come loose and the top button of his jarring orange shirt open. She could see where sweat collected on his forehead, a droplet running down that familiar scar of his that sometimes she just wanted _to touch and run her fingers across and ki-_ She stopped herself as he looked towards her, and their eyes met. His facial expressions changed from _deep in thought_ to serious in milliseconds, and she broke eye contact as she looked down, hoping to avoid what she knew was coming.

"_Are you okay?_"

Those three words of concern made something in her stomach stir as she nodded with a pitiful demeanor.

Ryohei was definitely concerned for the woman standing across him. Her dainty, feminine hands wringed the fabric of what was more than likely a designer brand skirt that fit her well. _Really well_. The warm light cast long shadows of her lashes that almost kissed her skin. He shoved his hands into his pockets and asked again.

"Are you _okay_?"

She nodded once more.

He clicked his tongue in dismay. He may be dense, but really growing up with a sister does educate you on certain habits. He could tell that she was troubled. She knew that he could tell. He knew that she knew he could tell. But after being the close friends they once were, he didn't need to ask questions to know that she had something she didn't want to talk about quite yet.

He noticed her as she licked her (_soft and tender_) lips before swallowing saliva, and speaking, "Like I said. Some business came up. I'll tell you about it some other time…"

She stood straight up, smoothing down her skirt _it's become almost a bad habit_ and collected some things on her desk into a very expensive-looking bag, "_Shall we go_?"

He nodded and he walked out after her, turning off the lights and leaning on the wall as she locked the room.

-Somewhere on a sidewalk in the business district of Namimori, 08:42—

They opted out of taking a cab to the school. He had called Tsuna after she told him that she wanted to grab a cup of coffee, informing him that he was with her, mentioning some other things along the line of _she looks really shaken up, maybe we'll just have a meeting later._ Tsuna told Ryohei to send her apologies for any inconveniencing, and assured that postponing the meeting was okay with him, much to Gokudera's loud (really loud) protests.

He walked into the small cafe that she had entered five minutes prior, and saw her waiting receiving her order of two(?) cups of whatever, but not before tipping the barista. She greeted him with a (fake) cheerful smile.

"Two cups? That bad, _huh_?" he commented with a raised eyebrow.

"The other one is for you, stupid…" she pouted. He smiled and graciously accepted the hot drink.

They sat near the window on two low lounge chairs, and a couple of minutes passed before Hino finally spoke up, "I'm sorry about all this, by the way…"

Ryohei did _that thing with his hands in his hair_ and clicked his tongue, dismissing the apology, "Tch. Don't worry about it. The only one that's really up in arms is Tako-head."

She let out a soft giggle and sipped her (what he figured out to be a) simple cappuccino.

_It was really cute._

He distracted himself with his drink.

"_Have you ever made a decision that you truly regret, but if you could wish un-doing it, you wouldn't?_"

What kind of question was that.

He looked up to Hino, who seemed to be really focused on the details of the dirty carpet.

Of course.

_I think._ Where even did that question come from?

"Well… Actually, I don't know…"

It was weird to see him stumped on something. Well, not really. It was weird because it was normal to see him have to think hard about something like math or English or literature. But whenever he was tasked with something that didn't make sense, he made sense out if it.

"You know what? Never mind. Just pretend that I didn't ask that question," she smiled, "how'd you find me, anyway?"

He coughed out something about bugs and phones and tracking devices. She rolled her eyes, _I'm not surprised_.

He shrugged as they continued drinking, with mentions of a rain check on their originally scheduled meeting. Somehow one topic changed to another, and soon they were talking about high school. _Ah, the good ol' days_. Like when she continued onto Midori High School, and he onto Namimori High. And how they had been continuous rivals in running and in swimming, in _her _sport. Like how they would run by the riverbank and collapse after sprinting during the hottest days of the summer. And how they both got accepted to different schools and how their lives changed over the course of 11 years since meeting. He went to a low-key university and graduated with a degree in biology, taking courses to become a licensed physical therapist (for the Vongolas, of course).

He had dabbled in dating here and there, making the mistake of going out with Kyoko's best friend once. It was messy and they broke up (if what the even had could be called a relationship) before the end of the third month. It's been well-past a year since then and Kurokawa Hana is now in a loving relationship with an older man she had met in the workforce. He chuckled to himself as he recalled the photo he'd seen during the Byakuran incident. It was of him and Hana at a party together. Now he's single, but doesn't mind it. Nowadays the whole mafia business eats up a lot of his time, and what little time that isn't spent 'working' or dealing with Kyoko's and Tsuna's wedding is spent training with the other guardians, and then some. He has to keep up his physique somehow. Of course, boxing is still his number one regimen. _As if that would ever change_.

Everyone in the family basically grew up together, though some separated from each other during their four years of university attendance. But after graduation they all reconnected back where it started. Namimori. The city that Hibari actually never left, even though his appearance was scarce.

She was there for some of the more important mafia-related events, not really noticing when they were absent for extended periods of time. She may have attended middle and high school with Haru, but Hino wasn't as close to that group as she was. So he told her everything that she didn't know, thankful that she wasn't involved in this whole mafioso business at a younger age.

_But if I knew all this back then I probably wouldn't have gotten myself into this whole mess_.

And what a mess it was.

* * *

This shit is 6 pages and I was writing from like 04-something to 0640 am like why am I trying to continue this dead-ass fic. It focused on the OC a lot and I am shame.

Weh I feel like Ryohei's a little too calm and it's so OOC for him OTL. Yay for altering canon.

**A lot of what I've read have made it out to be Hana as girl in the photo Ryohei saw during the Byakuran Arc, so I'll flow with that lol.


	6. Bang, Bang, My Baby Shot Me Down

Waking Up with the Sun Chapter 3: _Bang Bang_ My Baby Shot Me Down

Wow look finally another chapter wow. I'm sorry. Also, please leave feedback and reviews b/c it's what motivates me to write ;~;

UWU

UWU Namimori Middle School, just outside the Disciplinary Committee Room, 07:46 UWU

Hazuki stood in front of the sliding door, staring at it nervously. It had been two days since her originally planned meeting, and she just wanted to get things over with. Yesterday she paid a visit to the spa, and how relaxing it was. She spent the previous morning contemplating on whether or not she would go to an onsen or to a western style spa and she chose the latter, being somewhat reminiscent of her days in America. It was nice and it had been too long since she was able to spend a day alone. She treated herself to a Swedish massage. But all that built up tension returned almost immediately as she stepped foot onto the school's grounds.

She let out an aggravated sigh, _Why do we have to do this so damn early in the morning, too? And on a school day. In a middle school. Really now._ The woman was able to easily maneuver the campus, her profession dress helping her blend in with the background.

So as to avoid any more incidents regarding Gokudera being extremely loud at too early in the morning, Hazuki woke up early, feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day. Or so she planned. Almost immediately upon returning to her hotel room after a nice day of rest and relaxation, instead of being greeted by the warmth and comfort of her bed, with its fresh and newly changed sheets, she was welcomed to the chaotic scene of papers and more papers, all reminding her of her _actual_ job. The one where she was managing a group of Japanese international pop sensations, girls who were taking the day off and (thankfully) being guided around Namimori's more local attractions by one Miura Haru. She would get Haru a car as a token of thanks and appreciation. She had relinquished her position as CEO of _CosPlay Market_ and long since given the responsibility of management to a specially selected committee of hired (and trusted) assistants. They would be getting a bonus some time soon.

So instead of a nice, long night's rest, she spent the night sorting through finances and other miscellaneous documentation, writing down possible album ideas and sending out emails to those else who worked with the band. By the time the sun had risen she had given up the idea of any sort of nap, and resigned herself to a long hot shower. The coffee currently in her hand (one she had picked up from the Starbucks vendor in the lobby of the hotel) was her fourth within the past 3 hours.

_Make it a triple shot of espresso, please_.

If there was one thing she was thankful for during her years in America, it was the coffee shops on every street corner. Japan had much to learn about the importance of coffee. And now, instead of preparing herself to sit with the grace and poise of a young professional in front of the tenth boss of the Vongola, she slumped against the wall of an emptied hallway and closed her eyes. _It's just Tsuna. He'd understand._ Hazuki was well-passed any point of return to the living world, at least mentally, physically, and spiritually, and all she had hoped for was five minutes of peace and quiet and not a care in the world. Except that she was rudely awoken from her semi-conscious state to the slamming of the sliding door about half a metre away from her head. Bloodshot honey-brown eyes opened wearily and met with icy mint green ones. Both pairs were narrowed in annoyance almost instantaneously. _Of all the fucking people_.

"Good morning."

There was no reply. _Fine, be that way. _Hazuki followed the younger man into the room and sat on one of the couches, slouching as soon as she set down her coffee on a conveniently placed table. Less than two seconds later Yamamoto's distinct laughter as well as Ryohei's enthusiasm could be heard coming down the hallway. The two men entered and looked surprised to see the room's occupants. Hazuki merely waved, took off her glasses, closed her eyes, rubbed the bridge of her nose.

" '_Morning, Hazuki_!"

"You're here earlier than we are! That's a surprise, _hahahah_!"

She groaned. Someone chuckled. She heard the soft footsteps of one Sawada Tsunayoshi as they entered the room, pause (_no doubt to look around and get a variety of reactions from his guardians_), and continue until the sounds of someone sitting in an oversized leather chair echoed in the awkwardly quiet room.

Hazuki opened one eye to peek at the man in the chair and before he opened his mouth, she already started talking, "I have a meeting tonight. I'll get you the information afterwards, but I'm more than positive that they know what I've been doing."

Tsuna closed his mouth and paused to think for a few seconds, "Then what do you suggest we do, Hazuki-san?"

_I'm not sure of about anything anymore. _

"...I… don't know. I guess I'll just figure things out as I go, _ne_?" Hazuki answered as she sat up. She smoothed out the creases in her skirt and straightened her blouse, "It's not like eliminating me would do them any good, either. I'm the best damn rep. they've had from Japan within the past 20 years."

"And what _if_ you get killed, stupid woman? Then how are we supposed to know Niochavi's next move. He's the only reason we came back to Namimori, damn it," Gokudera spoke up, slamming a hand on the table, "he's been such a pain in my ass that I'm tempted to just go back to _Italia_ and shut his fat face up myself!"

"_Maa, maa, _Gokudera. Calm down," Yamamoto smiled, placing a gentle hand on his friend's shoulder.

Hazuki smirked, "You should listen to your boyfriend, Gokudera."

"_I'LL FUCKING KI-_"

The bomb master almost snapped. Yamamoto held him back. Hazuki remained unchanged. Tsuna face-palmed. Ryohei snickered to himself.

"Don't worry, Tsuna. If you want, you and your… subordinates can come over tonight and observe. As long as you're quiet."

"If you're okay with this, Hazuki-san. But please do be careful," Tsuna replied, "but I do have one more question…"

"Hmn? What's up?"

"Ah… Uhm. Just exactly _what_ happened a few days ago, Hazuki-san?"

Tsuna's question was quiet, almost to a point where it was timid. He easily read the tense reaction that Hazuki's body gave. Her knuckles whitened as she clenched the old, leathery fabric of the couch she sat on, eyes cast downwards, eyebrows furrowed and lips pressed into a hard thin line.

"..."

"Answer the damn question, damn woman! Don't make the boss wait for your stupid answer!"

She looked at Tsuna with cold, dead eyes.

"...My ex-husband came back from the dead and stopped by for a visit."

The room fell silent. Majority of its occupants averted their eyes to the floor. Including the one she recently slept with.

"_Ahahah_, he came at me with empty threats and false promises, _begging_ me to take him back. It reminded me of our divorce. But we'll just leave at that…"

She stared at the floor. Tsuna opened his mouth, "Are you su-"

"_Please just leave at that, Tsunayoshi-kun_."

He nodded as she stood up.

"Now, are we done here? I'd like to go home and take a nice long nap…"

Tsuna nodded and dismissed everyone from the room, but of course some of its occupants wouldn't leave the room without him.

Hazuki began walking towards the door as she checked her phone, it read 08:23. _It felt longer and shorter than that at the same time. But I think I might be able to squeeze in a nice four hour long nap before going back to work_…

Her train of thought was interrupted as she walked straight into the sliding door, and she stood there for a few seconds in awkward silence. In that moment she realized that her glasses were still on the table. And so she turned around only to face four grown men trying to hold in their laughter at Hazuki's reddened face (red from the walking into the door part, not from embarrassment.)

She rolled her eyes. _Boys will be boys, even if they are grown men in the mafia._

"_Hahahahah! _Hazuki, you're really funny. C'mon, I'll make sure you get back home safely (and in one piece)," Yamamoto laughed, placing a hand on her shoulder and _holy shit you are really tall_. Even in her heels, the distance between the top of her head and his was almost a good 18 centimetres.

"Thanks, _I think_."

They started walking down the slightly empty hallways, a few students casting curious glances before entering classrooms, when suddenly the woman was flanked on the other side by Ryohei, who gave her a concerned look. She smiled back at her once-best friend and leaned her head on his arm in reassurance.

"After I take a nap, let's all race, okay?"

Both men grinned widely and the mood changed from somewhat solemn and serious to energetic and playful, just like when they were young teenagers, eager for sports and challenges.

UWU Namimori Green Suite, Suite # 27, 13:17 UWU

The pleasant nap Hazuki had expected was not what she got. She rolled out of the large (empty) bed and stared through the massive windows at the sun high in the sky. She continued staring at the sun until she felt her eyes burn. _What fucking year is it_.

The woman checked her phone and found 2 messages, one from Yamamoto and the other from Ryohei.

Y: [_Yo Hazuki, me and senpai are gonna be in the lobby so wake up k?_]

R: [_HURRY UP AND WAKE UP SO WE CAN RACE AND I CAN KICK YOUR BUTT TO THE EXTREME! DON'T THINK I FORGOT OUR SCORES!_]

Hazuki narrowed her eyes and threw the phone on the bed as she got up to find clothes. But much to her _delight_, the phone started ringing. Long gone were the ringtones made from anime openings/endings and sound clips. It was just a boring old ringtone. She answered it warily, eyes flashing to the caller ID before pressing a button

[_**YOOOOOOOOOOOOO HAZUKI! ARE YOU AWAKE!**_]

"Oh my god shut up I'll be down there in like ten minutes."

And she promptly hung up.

-Namimori, some riverbank, 17:01-

She had (un)surprisingly lost. Taking up a desk job as well as the tasking job of being a manager for a band _and_ the CEO of a company took a toll on her body. Sure, she was still fit, but not something comparable to two men (who trained daily) physically active in the mafia. Her muscles had weren't as toned as before, and if anything, now she was more curvy than athletically lean.

The three adults were currently laying on the riverbank, an old spot she and Ryohei would end up at after many of their races. They had a race to various locations, and stopped for about an hour after each race to laze in the closest grass area. Hazuki rolled around in the grass, trying to catch her breath.

She regretted that decision immediately, as something got in her eye. She kept scratching at her left eye, trying not to disturb the contact lens that sat on it. She almost squeaked when Ryohei suddenly appeared next to her, held her chin between his fingers, and brought her face in close.

Her breath hitched.

He told her to calm down, and said there was nothing in her eye. She blinked at him for a few seconds before he let her face go. She scooted away after lightly punching him. _Don't ever do that again, stupid_. _Scared the shit out of me_.

"Glad to see you're in higher spirits, Hazuki (even though you lost)! Doing any sort of physical activity is great for your body! Gotta work it out to the extreme!" Ryohei laughed.

She punched his arm, "Don't think I let you off the hook just because I lost this time. And… we've known each other for years, you guys can call me Hino."

Ryohei and Yamamoto looked at each other, before grinning at her, "_Yosh, Hino!_"

They ended up sitting and talking on the riverbank until the sun started to set. Hino laid back and closed her eyes, enjoying the cool breeze and the warmth of the sun. She missed simpler times like these. When she didn't have to deal with four hormonal teenaged girls (even though she loved them to death) and manage their musical career, or deal with a lecherous old Italian head of a dangerous Italian mafia and the crime syndicate she was involved in, or any of that other adult bullshit.

She opened her eyes and rolled her head to the side, only to notice that Ryohei was staring at her. Their eyes made contact and he turned away furiously, trying to hide the blush that slowly crept up on his cheeks. She raised an eyebrow in confusion and turned her head to look the other way, noticing a lightly-sleeping Yamamoto.

UWU Namimori Green Suite, Suite # 27, 21:52 UWU

((All conversations within the video conference are spoken in English))

_You are now logged in; would you like to coordinate a meeting?_

__x_Yes_

__No_

_Welcome to the International Blacklist, current members logged on:_

__ Hino Hazuki, Japan_

__Alessandro Niochavi, Italy_

__Jacques de Gaulle , France_

_**Would you like to initiate a video conference?**_

_**_x_Yes**_

_**_No**_

Hazuki let out an irritated sigh. She would be alone with these two creeps more than twice her age. At least she had the somewhat solid comfort of some of the core Vongola family members sitting across the room from her. She made sure there would be absolutely nothing to give away their hidden locations, propping herself up on a chair against the matte painted wall, glasses long gone.

Three different faces appeared on the screen, one being hers. The Italian let out a throaty chuckle and the Frenchman made a noise of curiosity.

"_Mon cherie_, you look quite… ehm… Natural," he stuttered in accented English. The woman didn't bother to fix herself up. She came out of the shower more than half an hour ago, wearing only a bathrobe. Her (slightly) dried hair laid in tangled tresses. She pouted.

"_de Gaulles-san_, I apologize if my appearance is appalling in the slightest. If you wish, I would be glad to merely close the video window."

"_Non, non_, there is no need for that, my lovely," he replied, "but it does seem odd that our lovely German friend is not here, _oui_?"

"I recall getting an email about _Schwarz-san_; I believe he may be in _Denmakku_, visiting his mother."

"Ah my beautiful flower, ignore the damn French bastard. He doesn't appreciate true beauties such as yourself. And your _inglese_ is as _cute_ as ever," Alessandro finally spoke up, smiling smugly.

"_Watch yourself, pasta-freak_," Jacques retorted.

"_A-Ano_, please, gentlemen, let's begin, shall we? This weekly meeting has now been convened."

From any spectator's point of view, observing Hazuki converse with two international criminals seemed to be more of a flirt/racial insult fest between two romantic countries. Hazuki was different from her normal demeanor, and much more different than from what Tsuna had experienced in his history with the woman. She was much more submissive sounding, yet she was able to shut them up with at the mere slight hint of protest in her voice. In any other situation, she probably would have them eating out of the palm of her hands at the slightest request.

They proceeded to converse about their recent trades. Tsuna was surprised to find that different nations were in charge of different categories of goods. He found out then that Niochavi was upset about the balance of the assigned categories, as his was primarily focused on art and religious artifacts. Hazuki represented Japan as the leading nation in technology, accompanied by China and South Korea.

"Lastly, the latest in CPS has just surfaced. Some of my contacts within these companies have confirmed it to be, and the earliest we can get the blueprints would be by late next month. There is a high security issue because of how similar they are to _box weapons_. But it is also confirmed that these in fact are intended for recreational use."

There were some clicks of the mouse and rapid typing as Hazuki sent whatever information she had to her companions.

"Ah, work is so very hard, is it not? But life would be much easier here in _Italia_ if I could get those damn _clams_ off of my back," Alessandro sighed dramatically. He was currently playing with his tie.

De Gaulles had taken it upon himself to pour himself a glass of wine, and as he swished the deep red liquid around in his glass, he chucked, "You _Italiens_ and your mafia, really. It's just as _Monsieur Schwarz_ said, 'useless'."

Hazuki could see Gokudera's irritation levels rise as de Gaulles continued to insult the mafia lifestyle. She coughed to get the Frenchman's attention.

"All nations have crime rings within them. There is no need to be so prejudicial, _de Gaulles-san_."

"_Signorina Hazuki_, my heart is touched by your kind words. Perhaps you could accept my offer to come to my villa to touch _more_."

She almost threw up in her mouth, but there was an audible gag followed by laughter from the Frenchman. The Italian only continued to speak.

"But I must say, where has this kindness stemmed from? It has been brought to my attention that you, my beautiful Japanese flower, know much more than I had initially assumed. Is it not true that you are associated with the Vongola?"

She lightly feigned innocence, "_Niochavi-san_. Those relationships were from long ago. We're nothing but mere childhood friends from days of the past."

"Surely they must know who you are. And do not lie to me _bella_."

_Shit. I guess here goes nothing_. "You're right, _Niochavi-san_. There is much more to that. I am in fact, in love with one of the guardians…" She bit her lower lip and looked away, as if love struck by Cupid's arrow then and there.

The look on Alessandro's face was priceless. De Gaulles spit out his wine.

"It is an unrequited love. And I know I will never be able to find someone like him, but I cannot deny my truest feelings, _Niochavi-san_. His very touch makes my heart flutter, and every time he smiles I can feel my stomach twisting itself. His laugh is contagious, as is his warmth and kindness. But I am no more than an old acquaintance… I'm so sorry about this sudden outburst of emotion! Even right now, my heart aches and yearns for his gentle caress."

Tsuna and his guardians had to leave the bedroom (as quietly as possible). And then leave the hotel room. And then move to a totally different floor.

She felt like she was going to keel over and die. _I'd better get a fucking award for this_. There she was, flushed red with a delicate hand on her chest, eyes brimming with forced tears.

A single teardrop fell, and there was nothing left to be done.

Niochavi, however, looked confused. His approach to divulge useful information was thrown off, and he didn't know how to ask anymore questions without being more nosy and lecherous than usual. So he cleared his throat and let out a disappointed sigh.

"Ah, my dear. _Amore_. It is so passionate. I apologize for my intrusions. We shall convene soon, I do hope."

And with that, he was gone.

The Frenchman paused for a second before staring directly at the camera, "You have my sincerest regards, _mon chérie_." He gave a wink and signed off.

Hazuki closed her laptop and threw it on the bed before sinking into her chair. She got up after five minutes and pulled her cellphone out.

H: [_Coast is clear. You can come back in. Bring me dozens of roses for my performance_.]

She had just made it to the kitchenette when loud banging happened upon the door, and so she opened it, grinning like a maniac.

"Where are my roses?"

UWU When Tsuna & Co. left the hotel room UWU

It was getting hard to breathe. Tsuna couldn't decide if he wanted to laugh or cry, all he knew was that he was shaking uncontrollably and _very_ shocked at the words that came out of her mouth. Ryohei had taken it upon himself to loudly exclaim what everyone was thinking.

"_WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?! IN LOVE WITH SOMEONE?! WHAT KIND OF EXTREME BULLSHIT IS THIS?! A KOREAN DRAMA!?_"

It took both Yamamoto and Gokudera a good minute to calm the sun guardian down, with the latter shushing him. _Do you have to be that fucking obvious, turf-top!? Shut your damn mouth!_

UWU

When asked about who she was in love with, Hino would simply reply with a blank stare and a monotone voice, listing a different guardian each time.

First she said it was Tsuna. There was almost an uproar. She paid no heed and went back to the magazine she was reading.

The second time she was asked, Tsuna was sweating. She then said Yamamoto. There was almost another uproar and the swordsman was utterly confused.

The third time was Gokudera. The room almost exploded. "_Don't do that in here. I just had these sheets changed and those shoes are brand new_.

The fourth time she said Chrome. There were almost reactions until they (Tsuna and co.) realized that Hazuki and Chrome _barely_ knew of each other's existence.

She continued to list guardians and by the time she had come around Lambo, they were all tired out.

"What about _onii-san_? Are you in love with him?"

Hazuki choked on her own spit before glaring at Tsuna.

"_Did you really just lump me with that idiot? _He's like… like… a stupid best friend who does stupid things."

No one noticed the hesitation in her voice.

"_Who the hell are you calling stupid?!"_

"_You, stupid. You really are that stupid."_

Tsuna could feel a headache coming on the horizon. The way they interacted with each other didn't change at all, and it was comforting. So he simply smiled and laughed with his friends at the witty banter.

UWU

Ryohei had found out after coming back from a mission. Both he and Yamamoto were assigned to be bodyguards for Hazuki, met with much protest. Something about _not needing to be protected by idiots because she was perfectly fine on her own_. So he was sent away for a couple of days to take care of some things, only to return to his originally assigned job.

Yamamoto had asked Hazuki out on the second day he was gone.

She said yes, much to everyone's surprise (including Yamamoto's). "_It'll help me take my mind off of things, so yeah_."

It wasn't a romantic date, per say. She was just accompanying him to a wedding of one of his friend's from the baseball team in Namimori High School. _Does that even qualify as a date?_ Yamamoto knew that Gokudera would kill him if he asked Haru (they never said anything public or official but everyone knew about those two), Kyoko and Hana were instantaneously out of the picture, and most other girls he knew were with someone else, but really it was only Bianchi and Hazuki left in the social circle. And Bianchi was in Italy (and he already knew that it would be a regrettable decision).

He needed more female friends. He was just about to decide on going stag when Haru suggested he ask Hazuki.

Yamamoto called her up that morning, surprised to see that she was already awake, then again, it was already around nine. She agreed, and he would pick her up around noon. She complimented him on the nice car he drove, and he laughed saying it was a company car. She laughed, _only the best for the Vongola Guardians, ne?_

The wedding was on the outskirts of town and the weather was beautiful. It was a western-style wedding, so majority of the attendees wore suits and dresses and the like, including the Vongola Rain guardian and his date. It was an outdoor wedding that started at one in the afternoon and finished around three or so, and they decided to stay for the reception. Hazuki recognized the bride as an underclassman from Midori Middle.

She, in fact, ended up recognizing a _lot_ of people from school.

Yamamoto was pretty sure this was the first time he'd ever seen Hazuki in anything outside of her business attire and casual clothes (and stuff they wore when they were younger but that's besides the point).

She was, he would admit, very pretty. Her medium brown hair was down in a low bun, loose curls framing her delicate face. Her makeup was simple and highlighted her facial features. The dress itself hugged her in all the right places. It was a sort of pastel green, simple strapless dress that went down to right above her knees, with a slit on the side that went up her leg a little. A thin silver belt sat at her waistline. A simple, yet ornate, diamond necklace sat on her neckline, accentuating the curve of her shoulders and catching the sun every time she laughed.

They were currently sitting at a table, chatting with the bride and groom who had taken a sort of break from dancing, enjoying the reception and mingling with friends. It was only when his phone vibrated in the breast pocket of his jacket that he was brought back to reality. It was a message from Ryohei.

R: [_Where are you guys at? Tsuna said you went out or something_]

Y: [_Remember Monta from high school? At his wedding with Hino. Turns out she knows people too_]

It wasn't until about 13 minutes later did he receive a reply back from Ryohei.

R: [_kk just don't stay out too late and check back in when you're back at base._]

They got back late.

However, they were not _as_ drunk as their previous encounter; it was an _open bar and the champagne was damn good_. She made a mental note (and a memo on her phone) to buy some for herself later.

Both were surprised to see Ryohei sitting at the dinner table of her suite, some files spread on the table. He gave a wary glance at the two as they walked in, still giddy from earlier festivities, noticing Yamamoto's jacket draped over her petite figure. _Uh-oh! Looks like dad's home, hahahah!_

Hazuki giggled as she fumbled to remove her heeled sandals, almost falling, but her companion helped her steady herself from the back with one arm around her waist and another holding her hand. Yamamoto sat down at the dinner table as Hazuki removed the tailored jacket and handed it to him before she went to the bedroom, _I'm just gonna shower n'change real quick_.

Ryohei turned to his fellow guardian, "She's drunk, isn't she?"

He scratched the back of his head sheepishly, avoiding eye contact with the sun guardian who clearly seemed uncomfortable with the affectionate display, "Just slightly more intoxicated than tipsy. You see there was this open bar and..."

Yamamoto stopped speaking as Ryohei slid a file across the table to him.

"Sawada had me do some research. Her ex-husband used to be an underling of Niochavi. They met in America and he was the one who dragged her into the IB."

_Jan de Medici._ He was the son of a German woman and Italian man. He had just finished an assignment when they met at a museum. She had taken interest with him because of his last name, and they soon started dating. It was recorded to be a pleasant relationship, and she was already a successful business woman. And she was Japanese. She was the perfect target and she fell right into his lap.

They met in February and married in December. Nobody knew about it. Absolutely no one. Or so she thought. Alessandro Niochavi knew everything.

Ryohei then proceeded to speak about Niochavi's movements behind the _International Blacklist_ guise as Yamamoto skimmed the files. Her assassination was planned to happen months after their one year anniversary. The widower would then take control of her position as the rep of Japan, and the Niochavi would begin their monopolization of the blacklist market from there. Japan was higher in rank than Italy, known for its efficiency and connection to the United States. From there they would slowly change Japan's course of method that focused on non-weaponized technology-a standard enforced (and closely monitored by the US) since the end of World War II.

Hino was, much to Niochavi's dismay, perfectly suited for the job. She made slow reforms in the green energy department and managed to get on the good side of some major nations. She incidentally, also became good friends with the representative for America.

She found out about the plot to kill her a week before the planned date. And immediately divorced Jan. All she knew, though, was that he hired a hitman. She didn't know anything about him working for Niochavi. A file for Jan de Medici appeared on the IB databse and he disappeared off of the face of the planet until a week ago.

Yamamoto was just about to open his mouth to speak when their conversation was disrupted as Hazuki opened the doors to the room they sat in, wearing _nothing_ but an oversized t-shirt and lacy pink panties. Both men immediately turned away, faces flushed.

"_What. N'ver seen a girl in her underwear?!"_

"It's not that, Hazu-_Hino_. It's just that this is uhm... not a side of you that we've ever seen, _ahahah?" _Neither of them saw it, but at Yamamoto's comment, Hazuki looked at Ryohei with a sly smirk.

Yamamoto kept his face turned away, but gave Ryohei a sort of '_What the hell are you doing?!' _look at Ryohei, who was turning his head to face the woman. Yamamoto also noticed that Ryohei was averting his eyes elsewhere.

"Oi! Hino! Put some damn clothes on when you have company, _damn it_! That's extremely inappropriate!"

The woman merely pouted and skipped her way to the kitchen, "Jeez. I just wanted something to eat, okay? Try not to get your panties in a bunch."

Ryohei spurted and almost busted a nut at the comment.

"_Eeehhh?! _You're one to talk! I'm not the one flashing their underwear!"

Yamamoto laughed at the scene unfolding before him. They had such a natural sort of chemistry. Ryohei was definitely a social person, but his exuberant personality often tended to scare people away. Hino was one of the friends that challenged him, and occasionally beat him, regardless of her constantly dismayed attitude towards his presence. Of their circle of friends, the boxer was the one who knew the girl the best. It had taken Yamamoto a good year to join in on their sporty rivalry. It was sort of hard to get it to fit in with his schedule of baseball and school, as well has that whole sword training and guardian stuff. But the two welcomed him into their daily training routines with open (and albeit sweaty) arms.

Yamamoto snapped back to reality at the sound of a bang. His attention was drawn to Ryohei who was trying to get Hino back to her room, a hard wooden chair out of place in the middle of the floor.

The other man had his arms wrapped around Hino's waist from the back, pulling (more like dragging) her dead weight to the other room.

"You're not making things any easier, yanno?"

The grown woman pouted, hanging in his arms.

"_Weddings make me want to puke."_

_Well that was unexpected. _Ryohei stopped walking (read: _dragging_) and let out an irritated sigh. He shifted his weight and picked the depressing woman up bridal style and carried her to her bed before tucking her in, and wiping the tears that began to collect at the corner of her eyes.

Yamamoto had moved to the door post, and watched Ryohei hand her a tissue.

"_I never want to get married or go to another wedding in my lifetime."_

"_Arrghh, _don't be like that, stupid."

"Who the hell are you calling _stupid, stupid?"_

He ruffled her damp hair and she smacked his hand away. Yamamoto smiled in understanding and moved back to the dining table to review the rest of the files. Ryohei sat by her side until she stopped crying and eventually fell asleep.

Yamamoto looked up as Ryohei quietly shut the door to the woman's room. "_Tsk,_ troublesome woman…"

The rain guardian chuckled as he organized the files on the table. "You two have such good chemistry with each other. I think I'm jealous," he joked.

Ryohei shot him a tired look, "What. Want me to tuck you in, too?"

-END-

So I've actually had this chapter ready since September but not really. Uhm uhm uhm god it's so shitty and so OC-based I promise it'll get better (maybe)


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